


Tangled

by ohsenpai



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Drama & Romance, Explicit Sexual Content, Hurt/Comfort, Infidelity, M/M, Mpreg, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:15:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 57,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27397060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohsenpai/pseuds/ohsenpai
Summary: Luhan and Chanyeol were ready to take their 5 years relationship into the next stage, meanwhile Baekhyun and Sehun, best friends since birth, had decided to tie the knot after realizing they fell in love with each other. And what they failed to know sooner was how tangled the red strings were which bound them all together.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Oh Sehun, Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Lu Han/Oh Sehun, Lu Han/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 16
Kudos: 64
Collections: #𝓑𝓪𝓫𝔂𝕄𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕱𝖊𝖘𝖙𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Code: Self-prompt
> 
> Pairing : HunHan, ChanBaek
> 
> Carrier : Luhan, Baekhyun
> 
> Pregnancy : Pre/during pregnancy
> 
> Babies : More than one

The line keeps ringing as he taps his fingers on the balcony railings nonstop, nervous and impatient. Worst scenario plays on his mind thus makes him even more jittery than he already has. “Pick the damn phone, for God’s sakes” he curses in between gritted teeth.

Around the fifth rings, a groggy voice grunts from the other side, “damn, what takes you so long?” Chanyeol snaps almost immediately.

“What the fuck? I just woke up and you don’t even greet me with a proper hello?” The annoyance could be heard within his snarky remarks. What kind of doctor gets all pissed off by a call at seven in the morning? He should have at least expected it every time!

“Listen, Sehun, I don’t have time for that, this is important” Chanyeol’s typical deep voice penetrates through the receiver, pretty much indicating how serious he is about whatever he’s going to say.

“What’s important?” He could picture Sehun raises his eyebrow with his tone alone.

“He’s pregnant, Sehun” there’s a long a pause before the response comes.

“Well, congratulation? Aren’t you supposed to be happy or something? You’re married, you don’t have to expect to get your ass whooped by your mom for knocking out your own husband, moron”

Chanyeol pulls his hair in frustration. He wants to jump off from the balcony right at this moment if he doesn’t think much of his soon-to-be widowed husband and orphaned baby if he did. “That’s not the point, you dumbass!” He half shouts to the phone.

“Then what? Are you expecting me to read your fucking mind?” Sehun sounds even more frustrated than himself right now, and he can’t blame him.

“I, uh...” his cheeks blush in embarrassment. God, he never thinks it would get so awkward to say it out loud. “He’s around 2 weeks old, and...”

“And?”

Oh, how he wishes for the ground to suddenly open up and swallow him whole. “We’ve been having sex since then” another pause.

“Wow, Chanyeol, I know you can be so stupid sometimes, but I didn’t know how stupid you could be until today”

Chanyeol feels insulted at the comment as he grips the railings hard before giving in into the desire to smash his head against it gets the best of him, “what the hell, dude?”

Sehun sighs in defeat, “of course the baby would be fine! What? Do you think the baby could see their daddy’s dick going in and out of their house or poking at their eyes?”

“Geez, Sehun, that’s not what I mean, asshole!” Lies. Because that was just exactly what has been clouding on his mind the moment he saw those two lines on the test pack. He would be damned if anyone sees him with his cheeks burning in shame. He calls his doctor friend to get some kind of consolation, not to get humiliated like this! Though it’s a relief to say the least.

Sehun’s laugh boasts through the speaker, that bastard clearly had so much fun with this. What he could expect? It’s not like he had dealt with pregnancy before, so it’s only reasonable for him to be this clueless! “Shut up!”

After a while, the annoying laugh finally dwindles down, “Oh my God, Park Chanyeol. Some kind of husband you are. You can at least know when your husband knocked up, I-“

His words get interrupted by a soft voice calling his name. “Wait a sec”

He hears some ruffles of fabrics which he could guess Sehun is getting up from the bed to reach wherever the source of voice calls him from.

“Jesus, baby, is it get bad? Do you want me to take you to the hospital?”

“No, I’ll be fine. Just-“ A gagging sound and Chanyeol frowns at the distant conversation.

“Oh, God. It’s getting worse. I’m taking you now. I’ll get you a change. Wait here,”

There are some clatters before Sehun’s worried voice registers, “I think I have to go now”

“What happened to him?” He asks, with the same tinge of worry.

“He got diarrhea since we got back to Seoul. He ate a super spicy food before we went to the airport. God, next time we decided our honeymoon destination I’m not taking him to Bali ever again. He’s addicted with this kind of raw shallot and chili condiments. What was it called? _Masah_? _Matah_? I’m not sure. It has been more than a week by now-“ the barfing sound continues and halts his ramblings to a stop. No one makes a sound as realization starts to dawn on them.

_Oh._

Suddenly another far-off sounding retch breaks the silence, and the two dense husbands swear in unison,

“Shit”


	2. an invisible red thread

“So, when are you two going to marry?”

The silver knife suddenly halted its movement in the middle of cutting through the juicy wagyu. Apparently, the person next to him seemed taken aback by question as well when he nearly blurted the wine out his mouth. Chanyeol coughed as his hands frantically reached for the napkin to muffle the sounds. His eyes went rheumy, trying to give the woman across the table his confused look. “What?”

Chanyeol’s mother—a middle aged woman, with a very similar big pair of eyes as his—gave her son the same perplexed expression as though they were mimicking each other, “I’m asking you, when are you going to propose Luhan? It has been 5 years, isn’t it normal for me to ask?”

Chanyeol still maintained his disbelief. Why couldn’t his mom ask him in private or without Luhan’s presence at least? Was she intended to embarrass her own son in front of his lover? “Mom, it’s-“

“Luhan honey, have Chanyeol talked to you about it?”

Luhan raised his head to look at her softened face, his dilated doe eyes looked even bigger than usual. He felt his cheeks warmer the longer he went without answer, “I…” his body shifted uncomfortably, “No” his reply was barely a whisper, hoping she couldn’t catch it with the slow piano playing in the background. As her attention diverted back to her son in a glare, he knew she heard it well.

And Chanyeol could only stare at her cluelessly, “what?”

The sleek black Audi stopped in the lobby drop-off. It was a little past eleven by the time they reached Luhan’s apartment complex. The smaller buckled off the seatbelt, “thanks for the dinner and the ride, I had fun, really” he took his boyfriend’s hand from the wheel and intertwined them together, smiling a little bit dopey. It must be the wine. He leaned over the console to kiss his cheek in farewell, “night, Yeol”

Before he managed to open the door, Chanyeol caught his wrist, “Lu, wait”

Luhan turned around to face him. Chanyeol seemed nervous about something and Luhan’s buzzed mind couldn’t figure out why. “What’s wrong?” he frowned as the former kept avoiding his eyes. The night went well like any other normal dinner could get, although Chanyeol’s mother question earlier caught them off guard, but dealing with arguments had been Chanyeol’s field of expertise. His mom should know better than to argue with his lawyer son, so they evaded the topic smoothly, alternating into something she might love to talk greatly, which involved her 4 months old first granddaughter, Seri, Yoora’s daughter. Lots of scolding followed since Chanyeol missed the labor due to his 3 months project in New York, and Luhan helped in giving baby care tips at times. Nothing could go wrong at this point.

Chanyeol finally looked up this time, licking his lips he said in a low voice, “I’m sorry,” before his lover could ask, he continued, “I never asked you to marry me. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just…“ he could feel his hand squeezed by the smaller ones, Luhan smiled down at him, and he relaxed a little. Luhan always seemed to have that kind of effect on people, whether he learnt it from his study on pediatrics or he was simply good at it, Chanyeol couldn’t guess, maybe both.

“It’s okay, Chanyeol. I know. You’ve been working hard with the firm, and I just completed my residency. Now we can at least enjoy our achievement for a little while. No need to rush anything. I’m sure mom only wants the best for us, she wants us to be happy, and we are now. Marriage can wait. Right?” Those doe-like eyes he had been gazing at for the past 5 years, the same eyes which gave him comfort on bad days, joy when he laughed, and sorrow if tears fell from them, now looked straight at his soul.

Thoughts swirled on his mind, about their first encounter at the public library, each holding two completely different subject of their dream, about their midnight confession in the parking lot, about their first break-up on Valentine's day, or the make up sex 6 weeks later, and no matter how many break-ups they went through, they would always find each other. And he thought, with Luhan, he could do this. They could do this together, living and loving for life as lawfully wedded couple.

“No” he shook his head, “I want to marry you, Luhan. Would you marry me?”

Shock was an understatement as Luhan opened his mouth and no words came out. He utterly at loss in this whole plot twist. Did Chanyeol just propose to him? Yes. So, would he marry him? The question hung in the air for quite some time as they kept their gaze on each other, too preoccupied with their own thought to process what just happened.

Chanyeol and Luhan as husbands. Five years were no short amount of time to spend together in a relationship, enough to know their sleeping habits, foods aversion, or even which brand of toothpaste they used. And spending another year of lifetime with Chanyeol, wake up and sleep next to him until they could no longer open their eyes ever again?

“Yes”

Because, why couldn’t he?

Sehun threw his heavy body on the couch. It definitely felt like a heaven after operating a five hours long surgery. Craniotomy could be a pain in the ass, but it wasn’t like he could complaint about it, that was what a neurosurgeon did. And so, the young doctor could only sigh in his blue scrubs as he placed his forearm across his eyes. Better took a few hours of nap before going back home, he didn’t think he could drive and survive in the traffic at this point.

Just before his consciousness started to drift away, a familiar tone broke the silence of the room. Sehun groaned out loud, he squirmed to block away the annoying sound by laying on his sides then covering his ear with his palm. The phone eventually stopped ringing and he almost prayed in gratitude before it started to test his patience one more time.

The surgeon moaned in despair as he stood up and stamped his way to the hanger where his white coat hung then pulled out the culprit from its pocket. “What?” he snapped to the receiver.

“Geez, calm down, grumpy. I didn’t do anything.” The tone on the other end remained calm and casual despite the blatant foul mood Sehun just emitted.

“Yes, you did. You just disrupted my nap.” Sehun still maintained his irritation, although he couldn’t blame it on the other but it was a perfect timing to do so.

“What are you? A bear in hibernation now? It’s 4pm for God’s sakes!”

The incredulity could be heard in the male’s voice and a headache was bound to happen sooner if he initiated another useless reply which probably led to an endless bicker, he knew it so well to even doubt it. “What is it, Baek? I’m just done with the surgery and I need my sleep” he started to massage the bridge of his nose.

“Are you okay?” Now the tone turned into worry.

“Yeah, I’ll sleep it off and I’ll be good. Why are you calling?”

“Did you forget grandpa’s birthday dinner tonight?” _Oh, shit._ He did.

“No, of course not. Do you need me to pick you up?” He walked back to the couch to sit, suddenly feeling grateful that Baekhyun called to remind him or else he might get his ass whooped by his mother. Important annual event as this one, no matter how got used he was since he was born and brought by his mother in a swaddle, he didn’t have it in him to remember them by heart like some kind of national day in his calendar. The Ohs and Byuns could’ve been a family by now if their granddads or fathers weren’t straight enough to marry their wives. The hope didn’t stop there of course when Sehun and Baekhyun had been attached to the hip since they babbled their first word, and went through the whole process of coming out in their teenage days, heartbroken and fell in love with the wrong people before realizing they only had each other every time it happened. Befriending childhood friend and dating them were two different things altogether. They might be friends since they were in diapers, but it only had been 2 years since they proclaimed to be in love. Nothing much really changed, apart from sex and kisses, no problem on ‘I love you’s part either, they used to say it although now it seemed to alter from its platonic meaning.

Baekhyun hummed a little, “well, do you have to work tomorrow? If not, you can stay at my place” Sehun contemplated the offer for a moment, Baekhyun’s apartment located not too far from the hotel where the dinner supposed to be held. Binge-watching _Prison Break_ with Baekhyun seemed tempting enough after a stressful week, sleep sounded nice but spending time to relax and chill even more worth it especially since he didn’t know when he would get the same chance, could be weeks later or maybe months.

“Still no schedule for tomorrow though, so yeah, I’ll pick you up at 7, okay?” two hours’ worth sleep would suffice to get rid of the bleary eyes for now. The Burberry suit and a pair of LV shoes sat in the backseat of his car could be such a lifesaver at times like this, saving 30 minutes to commute back to his apartment, an hour at most if traffic allowed.

“Okay, see you later then” as the line ended, his back hit the cushion almost immediately and sleep consumed him in no time.

His hand naturally slipped in the crook of the taller male’s arm by the time they stepped into the magnificent lobby. A couple of dashing men in suit, even in such a posh environment, they were still quite the head-turner. In Byun Baekhyun’s ten years old mind, never once he imagined this day would come where the scrawny and wimpy kid, he used to know turned into 180-something centimeters giant, muscled yet not bulky figures, hell not to mention those sharp jaws and perfect shaped nose he liked to brag about being natural. This bastard knew he was beautiful and sometimes Baekhyun hated him for that. The fact that he made it as a young hotshot neurosurgeon didn’t even help much to humble his ego. Oh Sehun and his pride were a hopeless case, although he tended to be more tolerable now.

Sehun, despite his younger age, became quite the mature gentleman now than he was 5 years ago. Baekhyun wasn’t sure exactly when, but ever since the man stopped taking random strangers to bed and asked him to tag along to one of his routine charity visit to the orphanage—Sehun didn’t tell him how frequent he had been doing this solo mission, but the way the children immediately swarmed him was all it took to the point he acquainted with them well enough for them to comfortably sit on Sehun’s laps while the other hung their arms around his neck from behind—might be the budding reason for the smaller to look at his best friend in a different light.

He and Sehun promised to take each other’s secret to the grave, of Baekhyun’s mother affair, of Sehun got stoned at the frat party or the truth about his aunt’s broken ten million won china, no matter how small or big, they treasured their ‘no secret’ pact a lot. So when Baekhyun noticed the distinct change in his feelings toward Sehun, he knew he couldn’t keep it all to himself, his action would probably put their friendship on the line, yet he didn’t think the younger would appreciate his lies either way.

Sehun had been a great boyfriend as he was as best friend. Their dynamic as lovers meshed almost too well with their friendship. They got used to each other’s presence and disposition to complaint about anything. Too comfortable to change a thing. Sehun with his charming persona and Baekhyun with his calm and cheerful nature. As long as they stayed the way they were, nothing really mattered.

Even from a far, Baekhyun could distinct their family’s table as the hostess led them to the far corner VIP section. Sehun’s mother was the first one to notice their arrival, “oh, finally, there you are” she smiled warmly at them, the other family members turned their attention to the couple who greeted everyone with polite smile and bow. Baekhyun reached out to Mama Oh and embraced her. She looked stunning as ever in her late fifties, like nothing much changed since Baekhyun graduated from his master degree. “How are you, sweetheart? Have you eaten well? You look skinnier” her eyes sized him up, then cupping his cheeks with both hands, “What happened to my chubby, _Baekhyunnie_?” she commented with a tint of tease in her soft tone.

Baekhyun released a hearty laugh, his eyes seemed to smile as he did, basking in her motherly touch. “I’m doing just fine, ma. It’s probably from the work-outs.”

She gasped in response, “don’t tell me Sehun makes you do that? How dare that little brat!”

“Hey, ma. What’s with the accusation? Your beloved son is right here” Sehun rolled his eyes playfully which made his mom and lover chuckled before he too joined them. The youngest son took turn to give his mom a tight hug, she caressed his cheek in longing and whispered a quiet ‘my baby’ to her grown-up son, then let him go to settle on the remaining unoccupied seat.

The dinner went pleasantly smooth for both family, grandpa looked more ecstatic for a family event in these past years, must be due to the new addition of the family, which was the energetic twin great grandchildren who barely reached 5 years old. Last year they gifted him a handmade doll which quite entertaining to see how Haera and Haein argued innocently between cat and bear. The twin somehow became the highlight now, since both families had gone too long without kids, so when Baekhyun’s older brother and his wife got twins, they cherished them a lot. The gifts this year turned out to be a red designer scarf from Haera who claimed to get them from her own allowance, meanwhile Haein’s was a polo cap which he probably stole from his great grandpa’s closet. This earned a good laughter from the whole family, although the elder kept thanking the adorable twin and kissed them lovingly.

Champagne poured in and desserts served while the conversations kept going around business, politics, and some gossips ensued. Yeonseok, Sehun’s older brother informed them the Jung family invited them to their granddaughter’s baby shower next week. “Wait, didn't she just married?” Baekhyun’s older brother, Baekbeom, piped in scandalized manner. His wife possibly pinched his thigh under the table as he suddenly yelped and hissed a low ‘what?’ at her. Nobody gave a comment on that matter, everyone on the table, maybe except Baekbeom, knew one of the Jung’s heir got married-by-accident last June.

Sehun and Yeonseok’s grandfather passed away 7 years ago due to his heart complication, while both theirs and Byun’s siblings’ grandmothers passed away long before they were born. So they only had Byun grandpa as the eldest family member, though the elder treated Yeonseok and Sehun no different than Baekhyun and Baekbeom. “So,” the old man started, clearing his throat after sipping on the tea, his slightly tremor hands lowered the cup to the saucer. “Should we be talking about the wedding of both families?” Now his dark eyes directed at his grandsons in question.

The smaller’s male’s body went rigid in an instant, he bet Sehun was too, yet he hid it better than himself as he nodded stiffly after a moment. The younger tipped the flute to his lips like nothing happened when deep down he knew the two of them were too in shell shock to even utter anything just yet. Mama Oh was more than ecstatic to oblige. For the first time in that night she talked a lot other than occasional agreement or laugh.

Sehun and him... married?

It seemed like everything faded into nothing but that one question echoed in his brain. He would be married to his very best friend, Oh Sehun. It supposed to be easy to take in, yet here he was with his own thought racing miles in seconds. He and Sehun lived within one roof, with children playing in the backyard until they grew old and died. Byun Baekhyun couldn’t decide how he should feel about this. Did he really develop a serious commitment issues due to his past relationships or he just too shocked right now? Marriage had never been a topic between them, so when it finally brought up to the surface, he completely clueless on how to feel and think.

His hand put the spoon back on the table in reflex now that he realized it trembled much like his grandpa did. Clammy palms wrung together in attempt to stop the tremor. Words like ‘cathedral’, ‘tuxedo’, and ‘spring’ kept ringing in his ears like white noises even though he no longer caught up with the dialogue passed over the table. It almost felt like his head might split in two with so much going on.

The talk abruptly stopped as their eyes zeroed on him alone, before he realized it, he found himself stood and the sudden screech of the chair probably got all of their attention. He gulped the hard lump formed on his throat, suddenly feeling self-conscious as he blinked rapidly. “Excuse me,” then he left in long strides, wanting to go out of that suffocating room as fast as his legs could take him.

Baekhyun pushed open one of the stalls, kneeling down before the toilet bowl as nausea hit him like a tidal wave, forcing the dinner out of his stomach in an instant. There, he puked his guts out for quite some time until he felt like nothing could wrench out inside anymore. The sound of door closing could be heard now that his head began to clear a little.

He felt bad for the unfortunate customers who walked in on his vomiting spree. Eventually flushed down the toilet and wiped his mouth with tissues, he stepped out from the stall to find Sehun on the sink, back straight, posture tense like he did moments ago when the impromptu announcement declared. Those broad shoulders blocked his sight to Sehun’s reflection on the mirror. Hence, he couldn’t tell what he thought on this whole situation.

“Are we... really getting married?” He murmured under his breath, secretly wishing no one would hear it but them. The man released a deep breath as he hung his head low whilst placing both his hands against the marble sink. Sehun seemed more frustrated now that it was only him and Baekhyun in the room.

“Lu, I can’t-“ He turned around and look of surprise presented both on their face. This guy wasn’t Sehun. Huge eyes, and pair of huge... ears as well. Though they didn’t seem out of place, instead it made him look... absurdly attractive. Not everyone could pull that look with those features, and here was this walking proof made a remarkable exception.

“Shit, I’m sorry, I thought you were my boyfriend” at the mention of the last word, it seemed to successfully break whatever spell fell upon him. His cheeks bloomed in realization. Byun Baekhyun had just gawked at a stranger. And gawk was never within his dictionary, he would never gawk! People would gawk at him, that was for sure, but for him to do that to others? _What in the world was happening?!_

He diverted his eyes else where only to notice the wet fading red blotch on the front of his pristine white shirt, probably a spilled wine. “Nevermind” he muttered quickly, making an about-face towards the exit. Did he just make a fool out of himself? Not to mention, he literally looked stupid with his jaw dropped after asking the stranger whether they are getting-

“Oof!” His train of thought interrupted as his body bumped into a hard chest.

“Whoa, whoa, Baek, are you alright?” The smaller looked up to find a frown marred his boyfriend’s handsome face. God, he never felt this relieved to see Sehun. “You look unwell, should we go home?” Sehun’s cool hand felt so much better against his heated skin. Going home sounded like a great idea right now, he didn’t think he had the energy left in him to deal with everything after spewing out his lunch and dinner, maybe half of his breakfast too.

He closed his eyes, sensing the impending headache started to make him dizzy then nodded weakly in reply, “yeah, please”


	3. connects those who are destined to meet

_Did Baekhyun accidentally eat some cucumbers?_

That was what had been whirling on his mind as he kept glancing now and then to the passenger seat. Baekhyun looked pretty much worn out, his pale skin appeared even more sallow. When he excused himself and didn’t come back within 15 minutes, Sehun initiated to check up on him. His little boyfriend got this habit of leaving his phone on the table which also got him reprimanded a lot by him. Old habit, die hard, he reasoned. But the last time he did that, he accidentally locked himself in the toilet for half an hour before Sehun came to the rescue. So, he just had to make sure the reckless guy didn’t get into another trouble this time.

If he might guess, Baekhyun most likely spent those 15 minutes throwing up. That pretty much he could tell by the faint whiff of acid on his shirt, slightly concealed by the cologne. He didn’t remember them eating something with cucumber on it, though it wasn’t like he got an allergy against it but still if he were to mention one thing to despise the most in this world it would, without no doubt, be that green fruit.

By the time he turned off the ignition, Baekhyun laid still with both eyes closed. Although it wasn’t that far for him to fall asleep this fast then that meant he drained out his energy or he might be really sick. He hoped it would be the former since a sick Baekhyun would be super hard to deal with. Sehun rounded the car to open Baekhyun’s side, crouching his towering form to reach inside the sedan, “Baek” he called softly, caressing his lover’s face. Baekhyun grunted faintly before opening his eyes to meet Sehun’s brown pairs. “Come on, let’s get you inside. Can you walk?”

Baekhyun took longer to process his words, when he only nodded, Sehun moved out the way, then positioned his hand under the car roof to prevent Baekhyun accidentally hit his head. After the other male stood with a little bit of staggering, he put an arm around to keep him steady whilst trying to secure the car. “Careful” he told him as they made their way across the deserted basement.

The journey to the penthouse until the petite male tucked neatly on his bed went quite uneventful, Sehun picked up the suit on the floor and the scattered shoes to the walk-in closet. Dimmed the light, pulled the curtain, lastly set up the diffuser on the nightstand. He briefly thought to make some porridge yet decided against it, knowing Baekhyun, it would be pointless to coax his stubborn ass to eat, then opted for a warm ginger tea instead. “Baek, I made you some tea” surprisingly, Baekhyun sat up without much confrontation. How unusual, Sehun thought, but he didn’t voice it out as he brought the cup to Baekhyun’s pallid lips. Only a third of the cup left when he pulled back to lie down. Sehun put the saucer and cup on the nightstand before helping the other settled under the blanket.

Just right when the man was sure he got his body covered enough to keep him warm to retrieve the dishes, a weak tug on his sleeve halted his movement. Without opening his eyes, Baekhyun managed to whisper, “Sehun, I love you”

This wasn’t the first time Baekhyun had said it, but in that moment, for some reason unknown, it sent a pang through his heart. If Baekhyun did so much as a peek under his eyelids, he might see how those words caught him off guard. Yet he didn’t think twice to try to let his lover knew, all he did was leaned in to kiss his forehead, letting the contact lasted more than a minute before he gently brushed his fingers through Baekhyun’s soft brunette strands, “you know I love you too” and somehow it felt like exactly what he needed to hear for his breath to even out and soon drifted off to dreamland.

Call him old all you want, but being a morning person was something Oh Sehun couldn’t help. It might come handy during his days as medical student, yet after a long night spent in operation room it suddenly turned into a straight-out nightmare and curse. He guessed they made the right decision to go home early last night, he managed to catch up with his lack of sleep yesterday, and now that he felt refreshed, here he was in Baekhyun’s kitchen, cooking up some English breakfast for two, hopefully his boyfriend’s nauseous phase was over.

Thinking back about last night, it would be a total lie to say he wasn’t surprised by Byun grandpa’s decision. On the day they started to romantically involve, he knew very well this day would eventually come, but didn’t they think this is too soon? Heck, he didn’t even know when he would feel like ready. This was Byun Baekhyun, the best friend he spent almost more than 3 decades with! What could probably go wrong? They had hundreds of trial and error already. Baekhyun loved him. He loved Baekhyun. He didn’t think he could love anyone else again at this point, those raging hormones in him were long gone along with countless heartbreaks and one-night stands. There should be absolutely nothing for him not being ready to settle down. Though if he thought about it carefully, he might contribute it to the feeling of fear to fuck up everything with Baekhyun like he did in the past. Building up a relationship with your best friend was both a bless and a curse. A bless because they knew each other like the back of their hand. As for the curse, Baekhyun had been a constant presence in his whole life, and the probability of him losing Baekhyun if things went wrong just didn’t sit well with him. The damage he could make while they were in relationship would be far greater than in friendship. Nothing would ever be the same. Fuck, he couldn’t even look at his exes in the eyes and didn’t get reminded of the heartache they caused after years.

“You forgot to close the door. Now my hair smells like bacon”

Sehun pivoted on his heels to see the subject of his thought descended the stairs with nothing but pair of black briefs under his rumpled white shirt from last night. Ash brown hair mussed in all direction, a typical active sleeper even in the state he was the night before. Apparently, the sleep brought back the color on his face, albeit not completely, maybe the breakfast would do. “Isn’t it a good thing to smell delicious?” he turned back to flip the sizzling bacon stripes and mushrooms.

The screech of wooden against marble told him no breakfast on the bed this time as Baekhyun seated on the stool. “I smell yummy all the time, you said so yourself two days ago” A low chuckle rumbled off his chest, he was wrong, his witty boyfriend was perfectly fine even before breakfast. “I’m starving, hurry up, Ramsay!” the taller rolled his eyes, there was his sassy Byun Baekhyun.

He lined up the plates with omelettes on each, “aye, aye, captain. Be prepare, best breakfast is ready to rock up your stomach!” Now it was Baekhyun’s turn to roll his eyes. Only his boyfriend could put up with his lame jokes, thankfully. Two plates of full breakfast presented on top the kitchen bar. Apart from _Jjapaguri_ as his best dishes to cook, this came the second. Fight him if someone dared to say it just instant noodles with sirloin cubes, English breakfast didn’t make it any harder to cook though… In Sehun’s defense he claimed to have a secret recipe which people just couldn’t appreciate its specialty! Shame on them.

“No coffee, alright. Give your stomach a break.” Orange juice poured into each of their glass after Sehun sat down next to him. Baekhyun was quite the caffeine addict, he could get all cranky without his daily dose. Hell, he might worse than a drug addict. Meanwhile Baekhyun’s cheeks were too full for him to utter a proper protest, “what? Do you want to puke out the breakfast I just made this time?” This however completely shut off his complaints. The smaller probably didn’t want him to know that for whatever reason he had. So, he didn’t try to mention the subject further.

They ate in silence with the occasional clink clank of the cutleries. “When… will be our wedding?” there was a pause in his question, be it hesitation or he just tried to swallow, Sehun couldn’t guess.

“Maybe 3 months from now, which will be around April. Your dad wants to make the announcement during his next launching on February. So,” he shrugged then sipping the juice.

Baekhyun’s family owned a medical devices manufacturing company. A top 5 best in Asia. While the Ohs had several international hospitals around the globe. Which founded the relation between the two powerful families in medical fields. Their family mostly consisted of doctors, scientists, and businessman or businesswoman. And Baekhyun with his dedication in numbers and strategies had chosen to follow his father’s path to lead the company. He just promoted as the COO of Byun Medical Corporation for almost 3 years now. It amazed Sehun that his best friend despite his young age and small figure could hold such a big responsibility and impact in the business world. Baekhyun and his team had been making a breakthrough in these past 5 years which earned him the credibility of his position in the company.

“Have they decided on the date?” 

Sehun took a glance at his boyfriend’s now clean plate, satisfaction blossomed in his chest. Whether Baekhyun nearly starved to death or his cooking was simply tasty, it didn’t stop the fact that all of them now moved into the smaller’s belly in peace. “They were discussing on it when I left to search for you. Though you might want to ask my mom about it, seems like she’s ready to be the Wedding Organizer.”

His dainty fingers reached for the glass, “yeah, I’ll give her a call. I have to start to clear some of my schedules for the preparation. You know I hate to disappoint her” then gulping down the content in one-go.

Sehun’s perfectly shaped brow rose at that, “you were never. And you won’t.” He knew for sure, disappointing his mother would be the last thing Baekhyun would ever do, not that his mother could get disappointed by him either, even if she did, she would forgive him as easily. He also knew how Baekhyun felt about his mother, she might be closest thing he could have as a mother figure rather than his own.

Mrs. Byun was a workaholic businesswoman, juggling between work and family apparently wasn’t her forte. Despite having two sons, it wasn’t strong enough as a reason for her to leave her career behind. She was at the pinnacle of her success when she gave birth to them. Pretty much raised by maids and butlers in their early years before school and lessons took place, the young Byuns never knew the real meaning of family until Sehun’s mother came to the picture to take that role. Unlike their mother, Mr. Byun always tried his best to make time for their children. It might sound a little harsh and heartless that the youngest Byun thought no one could fill the little gap in him which long for his biological mom when she was still very much alive and lived under the same roof with them.

Then so it all began one summer in his first year in high school. The naïve Baekhyun thought it was a brilliant idea to make a birthday surprise on his mother in her office, he called Sehun to nag him to help him. Instead of surprising his mom, the two of them learned the truth the hard way in a private parking lot when they found her hand in hand with a man who once introduced at him during a dinner gala which was his father’s recent business partner. To say Baekhyun was devastated beyond belief was an understatement as he cried on his best friend’s shoulder that night. Seeing how brokenhearted his friend was, Sehun almost went raging mad when Baekhyun chose to ignore the elephant in the room, and went on with life as if that day never happened, but in the end, he knew he had to respect his choice. Though Sehun couldn’t help sometimes to hide his obvious disapproval toward the woman ever since. If anything, Baekhyun was more deserving of a mother’s love than anyone after all he did, and Sehun hoped at least Mama was able to be someone Baekhyun could ask for a mother.

“What’s your plan for the day, anyway?” Now Baekhyun fully turned on his seat to face him, long slender fingers fiddling with a loose string of his sleeve. Another best thing to admire in his beau’s physical appearance apart from his face would probably his hands. As his eyes fell on those pretty fingers, he started to imagine what it looked like after he finally slipped their matching bands there. Would it be there too when the casket closed down on him?

Sehun seemed to contemplate on his answer for a while, “I don’t think I have. Netflix and chill?” he showcased his playful smirk suggestively which responded by a push on his face and a light chuckle from his boyfriend.

“You horny bastard” the latter shook his head as he jumped off the stool. What? Did he just act like a hypocrite saint now?

“As if you didn’t just right away get down on me by the time I get home and-“ Sehun shouted accusingly at Baekhyun who trudged back to the stairs, leaving him behind.

“Blah, blah, blah, I can’t hear it!” while covering his ears with both hands. _This brat really…_ Sehun gritted his teeth before sprinting to catch the little brat who quickly ran off and squealed all the way to his room.

“No way...”

Luhan frowned, pulling back his hand away from his best friend’s piercing cat eyes which he had no doubt was looking for a little evidence of it being a cheap fake one. “Well, he did. Chanyeol proposed me last night, and this morning he gave me this ring before dropping me off. So now, yeah, I’m practically engaged.” Being the cocky and demanding person Chanyeol could be sometimes, it wasn’t impossible for him to get a ring the morning after the unexpected proposal he made. Luhan unconsciously kept brushing the silver band with his thumb like how his body naturally responded to new things that didn’t use to be there.

“Lu, are you serious?” The guy gave him a stern look which made him a bit uncomfortable.

“What do you mean? Of course, I am“

“Lu, he was the jerk who cheated on you, twice even!” Luhan sighed as he leaned back on the sofa. He knew Minseok wouldn’t let go of that matter easily. He also knew Minseok wasn’t all too impressed with Chanyeol and his own biased treatment to their relationship to take Chanyeol back every time things went downhill. Park Chanyeol wasn’t a great boyfriend material, not that he felt that he himself was either, but he hoped they grew up from their mistakes and moved on. There was nothing they could do to undo the things that already happened, nothing good would come out of it if they kept dwelling on the past.

“Do you have to remind me about that every second?” Despite Minseok’s claim that his and Chanyeol’s relationship was an unhealthy one, he didn’t know if the fact that he was his roommate and best friend since med school would intervene to cloud his judgement. There was no deny that Minseok was a professional psychiatrist—heck, he wouldn’t have to make it here if he wasn’t—but that didn’t mean he was heartless enough to disregard their friendship into his psychoanalysis.

Minseok’s eyes softened as he laid his hand atop Luhan’s. Maybe the former realized this wasn’t how he wanted his psychiatrist best friend to react, even though he half expected it. “I’m sorry, I just... don’t want you to hurt yourself again” His eyes instantly fell on their joined hands, the sleeve of white coat rode up slightly to reveal a fading long narrow line scar upon his wrist.

Luhan’s heart suddenly wrenched at the sight, yet he concealed it by smiling warmly at Minseok then moving their hands in subtle manner to hide the ugly scar. “I know. And I’m grateful to have you by my side. But these past 2 years had been great for me and Chanyeol. We’re happy. I can see he’s a changed man now. He’s not what he used to be. And I’m trying not to depend too much on him. I guess we’re on the steady ground.” Before Minseok could open his mouth, Luhan held up his palm at him, “and stop psychoanalyzing me this time”

The shrink burst out in a light chuckle. “Alright, alright, doctor Kim Minseok signed out. But really Lu, I want you to be happy. I don’t like him a bit, or okay, maybe a little bit too much,” Luhan rolled his eyes at the correction and couldn’t help not to giggle despite its being true. “If you think you’re happy with him, then that’s all that matters. I’m happy for you. I truly do. Congratulations.” He ended his speech with a raise of his small shoulders and a cheeky smile Luhan knew all too well.

Tears started to prickle at his eyes. The simple yet meaningful words Minseok had said were never felt this relieving. He subconsciously pulled his best friend into a tight hug, “thank you, Minseok. Thank you.”

The other who barely recovered from surprise finally chuckled then returned the hug, “what are you thanking me for?”

“Because that means you just agreed to be my best man” a groan came out as a response successfully elicited a cackle from him as he pulled back and wiped up tears from his eyes. He was glad Minseok chose to visit him in the children’s ward break room instead of the cafeteria or else he hated to see the inquisitive eyes of their colleagues.

“Have you guys set the date?” Minseok asked again.

“It will be on my birthday. April twentieth.”

The other made a quick calculation on his mind before replying, “oh, it’s due in 3 months!” Luhan nodded. Wedding day and birthday on the same date seemed like a perfect day. They didn’t even have to suggest another date to compare when they mutually agreed on it right away. Minseok huffed as he relaxed his body against the sofa. “Ah, I want to get married too someday.”

Luhan took a glance at him, “you know you can ask him first” he shrugged his shoulder casually.

This seemed to ruffle his friend’s feather even further as the psychiatrist went sulky with folded arms, “but I want him to ask me first!”

Luhan’s eyebrow rose in amusement as he nudged his best friend on the shoulder, “maybe he doesn’t because you keep ogling at our hospital’s second heir son”

Minseok turned to give a scandalized look at the Chinese pediatrician, “what? Fat chance! Yixing would probably think that doctor Oh is out of my league to even worry about it!”

Luhan couldn’t help not to crack up at that, “oh, come on. I’m sure I can hook you up with him if you want to.” His eyebrows wiggled up suggestively.

Now it was Minseok’s turn to lift up his dark brow, shifting to lean on his side so he could challenge his best friend, “and how are you going to do that, Love Doctor?”

“Chanyeol said they went to the same high school. Bandmates or something.” It was true that when Luhan mentioned he was going to apply in Hanyul hospital, Chanyeol told him one of the two heirs was his bandmate. If he did some calculation it most likely be Oh Sehun. Chanyeol tried to contact him but apparently Sehun changed his numbers at some point so they lost contact ever since. By the time, Luhan made it into the hospital, Chanyeol was still in New York, and now barely a month since he got back in Seoul. He might try to reach Sehun again.

The other’s eyes dilated in surprise, “he what?! Doctor Oh was in a band?”

Okay, wrong focus. But he shrugged it off, “drummer, if I’m not mistaken.”

Minseok raised his hands to grasp his hair, “oh my God, doctor Oh was a drummer” he muttered in blatant shock as though he was trying to let that fact sink in. Such a drama queen indeed. Before he could get to roll his eyes for the nth times that day, Minseok grabbed his shoulders, “why didn’t you tell me this before?”

The petite male’s frown went deeper, “uh, I thought you already know?” He really did think Minseok was Oh Sehun’s walking encyclopedia. He had been working under Hanyul even years before Oh Sehun came back from Germany with his neurosurgeon title on his name. Amidst all of doctor Oh’s fans in this whole hospital, Kim Minseok would probably come on top rank. “Well, you know almost all of his exes’ Instagram, but don’t know that he was a drummer?”

Minseok released his shoulders and exhaled a deep sigh, “it’s not that hard Lu, especially when those men and women were the one who’s chasing him around. So, I just bother to check on his tagged photos. Although for the first time in forever, there’s only one person he posted on his feeds other than himself, his dogs, and random things,” now he fished out his phone from his pocket and started to type and scroll through it, then showing the screen to Luhan’s face.

On it, was a posted photo on Instagram of a dark-haired male, smiling at the camera with a yellow dandelion perched on his left ear, green grass filled in the background, probably in a garden or a park. The caption only said ‘baek’ in hangul with a yellow flower emoji. “He’s beautiful” he subconsciously commented as Minseok drew back his phone to look at it.

“He is. He’s way much better than those models and celebrities he had dated. I’ve seen him a few times lately. I guess they’re dating.”

“You were thinking they are not?” Luhan questioned the biggest hint. Well, if a guy didn’t bother to post a photo of someone else in his social media, not even his exes, and now that he finally did, not to mention, a single exclusive photo, without himself in it, didn’t it obviously mean something?

“They’re childhood best friend. So, I’m not sure,” Minseok scratched his scalp as he eyed Luhan up and down, then as though an idea formed on his head, his whole face lit up, “you could pass as his type, you know”

Luhan was shocked to hear his random blurt out, as he hit Minseok’s arm lightly, “what the hell! You don’t know that!” He chided. Him? Doctor Oh Sehun’s type? The joke wasn’t even funny. His eyes warily scanned the room, just in case someone suddenly would pop up out of nowhere to hear that silly blabber.

The psychiatrist straightened his back, “hey, I’m serious! I knew much of his exes to point out the common similarities amongst them. Don’t forget that I’m good at analyzing people. I mean, look at you! You’re shorter than him, fair skin, big eyes, small face, and more importantly, you’re more beautiful than them. He just hasn’t met you yet!”

Warmth spread across his face. No, no, he just didn’t imagine that possibility. Because right now his mind tried to conjure up the rare times he came across the young neurosurgeon. The most prominent one would be the fondness on his face when the man visited a little girl on the right wing where he took his round that morning. And an acknowledged nod with a polite smile on his way out as they by passed each other would probably the only time Oh Sehun recognized his existence. “Stop with this nonsense!” Luhan said a little too stiff, hoping the redness on his face would go away before Minseok realized it.

“Then, why are you blushing?” Shit. Too late.

And the other male laughed hard at the awkward Luhan who started to attack him with the pillow cushion. “Damn you, I’m not! And stop laughing! That’s annoying!” Luhan kept hitting his best friend nonstop, and the latter only doubled his laughter whilst dodging the assault on his head as he fended them off with his forearm. Before he could tease him further, a ringtone broke their little scuffle. The phone on the coffee table lit up with a name flashed on the screen.

_Park Chanyeol._

Luhan huffed in annoyance while Minseok only snickered at him. He tapped on the green button. “Hello?”

“Oh, Luhan, what time you’re done for the day?” Unusual question for Chanyeol to ask. Well, he used to, but that was back in the earlier years into their relationship. They both knew Luhan’s schedules were rarely flexible, so if they were planning to do something after work, they had to at least plan a week beforehand.

“Um,” His eyes automatically darted to the clock on the wall across the room, “in half an hour, is something up?”

“Okay, I’ll tell you when I pick you up”

Luhan bobbed his head subconsciously then felt stupid after realized the other couldn’t see him, “alright, see you” and the call disconnected. Minseok sat still like a good puppy waited for the owner to feed him, in this case, with information. “He said he’s going to tell me when he picked me up” he merely relayed what Chanyeol just told him.

The other male whose face scrunched in skeptical manner said, “as though he knows I’m here with you”

The petite doctor threw his hands up, he was so done with this, “I swear to God, Minseok, stop imagining things!” He stood up to march his way to the locker, retrieving his bags to change.

“Yeah, yeah, like you would stop to imagine being doctor Oh’s type” Minseok snickered as he scattered away before Luhan could throw anything at him.

“ _Yah_ , Kim Minseok!”

His long legs walked up to the information desk in the grand lobby. For a hospital, Hanyul was prestigious in design and technology. That was something to be expected of Oh’s family hospital group. Though he had never been to one of their hospitals, and today would be the first time since his fiancée worked here.

_Fiancée._

The word tugged the corner of his lips upward for a whole different reason as he greeted the woman behind the desk. “Hello, I’d like to know if doctor Oh Sehun from neurology is available today?”

The woman offered a courteous smile and asked him to wait as she went back to her computer to check up on the schedule. “Unfortunately, doctor Oh took a day-off today. And will be available back on Monday, would you like me to book you an appointment, sir?”

Chanyeol felt a little bit disappointed that he couldn’t manage to meet his old friend today. Monday would be two days away though, so maybe he could try his luck next time. “Ah, that’s fine. I’ll be back next time then. Thank you.”

“With pleasure, sir.” The woman put her right hand across her other shoulder as she gave him a little bow.

Then he walked away only to find a glimpse of Luhan and his old friend, Kim Minseok. “Luhan!” He called out whilst jogging his way to them. The two raised their head to find the source of his call until Minseok found him first then nudged the male next to him. He threw the psychiatrist his best smile, “Hello, Minseok. It’s nice to see you again”

The other returned the smile albeit a bit reluctant, “Hi, the same goes to you, Chanyeol” but he knew better than believing such pleasantry came out of his mouth. Minseok had been Luhan’s best friend long before he knew him, and it was justifiable for him to be protective around Luhan. After all, he hated to admit it, but he knew he hadn’t been a best boyfriend for Luhan, and Minseok without a doubt thought so too as he often felt the hostility radiated off from him every time they met. He didn’t know why he felt obligated to gain Minseok’s trust back, maybe because Luhan trusted him the most. And he wanted to be worthy in Luhan’s life even if that meant he had to get Minseok’s support on his back. “Anyway, congratulations” Minseok proffered his hand toward him.

Chanyeol who didn’t expect the silent treaty of peace almost too eager to shake his hand, ignoring the way the doctor staggered a bit by his excitement. “Thank you, Minseok!” He grinned ear to ear, once again thought nothing of the little grimace sent toward his lover’s way.

“Uh, yeah, I guess I’ll get going now” Minseok eyed the couple a little too awkwardly.

But Chanyeol was quick to chime in, “we can give you a ride if you want” for the second time, Park Chanyeol missed the obvious look of surprise on both males' faces. The tall lawyer got used to those kinds of response to his unexpected behavior so he paid them no mind by now. He could be so random at times depended on his mood. Chanyeol and his impulsive tendencies couldn’t live without each other.

“Yixing’s shift will end soon, so I guess I’m okay. Thanks.” The best friends shared a look which only them could interpret what that meant. “Alright, I’ll see you guys later”

“Yeah, see you!” and with that he sent the other off with a smile before the psychiatrist parted with them, or more like scurried away. _Ah, it was a good day for Park Chanyeol and Kim Minseok’s friendship to finally see a light_ , he mused.

“Why are you grinning like that?”

He found Luhan frowned at him, then quickly recovered from his reverie whilst clearing his throat, “who’s grinning?” Luhan who obviously didn’t buy his lie started to smile and hid his giggle behind his hand before Chanyeol put his arm around him and pulled him along, “nothing’s funny. Come on!” and Luhan just howled in laughter.

“Okay, so where are we going, Captain?” the blonde buckled on his seatbelt as his lover did the same on the driver side.

Chanyeol pulled a folded paper out from the dashboard and gave it to him. “I made a list of our wedding venues in Seoul. Might as well check it out while we have time. Well, you to be exactly, since I choose to take a break until the wedding day” he turned on the ignition, bringing the car into life.

Luhan only nodded as he perused through the list silently. The doctor didn’t comment on his decision regarding the time off simply because he was the one who had been nagging him to take the break he deserved. “Fine with me” the reply came casually.

The car pulled into the road smoothly, the afternoon traffic wasn’t too bad for Friday. Luhan was busy fiddled with the radio to lighten the mood that might be dampened by the traffic as Chanyeol kept contemplating to ask the question he had been wanting to ask all day without disrupting the good atmosphere. “Lu,”

“Hmm?” his fiancée’s eyes twinkled as he turned his gaze on him. He seemed to be in a really good mood to hum a random K-pop boyband song he claimed to hate two weeks ago. And Chanyeol almost backed away from his initial plan, though it most likely would upset Luhan even more. The upbeat tone of the song filled the air for a while, and Luhan still waited patiently whilst trying to catch up with some part of the chorus.

“Have you told your parents?” the regret immediately ate him whole when Luhan suddenly halted his cherry sing-a-long. Damn, if his impatient ass could wait a little longer to ask that.

The doe-like eyes male gave him a sheepish smile, well maybe a little bit between sour and bitter. “Not yet, but I will, don’t worry” the cheerful vibes all gone with the answer. Chanyeol knew he touched the sensitive topic in their relationship and he didn’t dare to push his luck on wishing they would casually talk about it like discussing the weather.

Luhan’s parents weren’t exactly ecstatic to find their only son preferred men over women. Although most of the government half around the globe was more accepting to the LGBTQ+ community now than a decade ago, some people, mostly old folks chose to stick with the conservative side, and Luhan’s parents were one of them. Even with one of the world’s biggest medical invention in the century which now could help to develop male pregnancy by planting an artificial ovary, he didn’t know what else could be the difference of their love and those between a man and woman apart from the gender.

They weren’t on good terms since Luhan decided to come out back when he started his residency. They even decided to cut their financial support and lucky enough Luhan continued his study by his scholarship alone, also made his own money here and there quite to live a middle to upper-class lifestyle in Seoul. Sometimes Chanyeol insisted to help him out, but Luhan became even stubborn to decline when it came to money. Luhan might not show it too often, but Chanyeol knew he had been trying to send his parents messages every now and then, Christmas gifts and wine for thanksgiving included, he once mentioned how his father loved red wines. Luhan had been homesick for years, and he just hoped with their marriage, he could build a better family and home for Luhan.

By the time they reached the red light, Chanyeol extended his arm to touch his lover’s cheek, “Luhan, hey, look at me,” and when the latter did, guilt hit him square in the chest to see the sadness lied within those beautiful orbs. “You don’t have to tell them if you don’t want to. I’m asking because I know you’ll be troubled by it. So, it’s okay to do that. You have me, you have mom, and Yoora noona, or maybe dad too. And if you want kids, sure we can have them soon. I’ll give you the family you need, the family you deserve” a lone tear escaped from his crystalized eyes, and the taller wiped it off with his thumb immediately.

Without foreseeing the impact of his words, Chanyeol got pulled into a chaste kiss. He still blinked hard at Luhan’s impulsive gesture, because impulsiveness was his forte, not Luhan’s, so it quite took him by surprise. And when he started to flutter his eyes close, intended to deepen the kiss, a honk from the car behind interrupted. Luhan pulled away embarrassedly, hell if he didn’t, Chanyeol might never stop. “Damn, people” he cursed out loud as he stepped on the accelerator and Luhan chuckled softly.

The sunset painted a streak of orange against the cerulean sky. Apart from below 5 Celsius cold, the weather was good as any day. The Shilla hotel was the third place on the list they visited today, and now they were checking out the outdoor venue where a small artificial lawn surrounded by Hanok style building, giving off a traditional touch in elegant atmosphere. It turned out to take longer than two others prior coming here. Chanyeol could tell how much the petite male mesmerized by this place, but not as much as Chanyeol got mesmerized by the enchanted look on his face as he walked in the middle of the snow-covered garden with him not too far behind. The red-yellowish sky in the background actually helped in accentuating his beauty even more.

“Chanyeol, it’s really beautiful” Luhan twirled on his heels, now facing him with the sweetest smile of a joyous child, so contagious that he unconsciously mimicked the other.

“Yeah… very” he replied in different context, though Luhan didn’t know that. 

From a far, they turned around to the sound of heavy steps coming in their direction. The middle-aged man who had been assisting them around the hotel came with their needed information, “sir, the venue is available on your requested date. Would you like us to keep it for you?”

A pair of doe-eyes silently begged him to confirm, but they still had a few to check out on their list. Plenty time to come to a final decision, no reason to rush anything all at once. “Can you give us time to decide? Until then, keep it secure for us as well?”

The man displayed an amiable smile he never stopped to wear since their first greeting, in Chanyeol’s random mind, he couldn’t help to wonder whether he needed to massage his cheeks at the end of the day on daily basis. But he dismissed the thought as soon as the reply came.

“Of course, sir”

The next day proved to be hectic for Luhan, so they had to cancel their plan to continue the surveys. Since Sunday was his day-off, they spent the majority of the day to make up for the time they lost. The rest of the list turned out to be quite fruitless, it was either booked or simply unfit for the concept they had in mind. And so, it left them with latest book they made, the Shilla hotel. By the time the couple were back seated in the sedan, it was a little past 6pm. “Since we’re pretty close to the Shilla, do you want to check it out one last time to make sure?” Chanyeol asked after taking a quick look at the digital clock on the GPS screen.

The petite doctor despite looking a bit worn out, didn’t oppose the idea as he bobbed his head in agreement whilst pulling the seatbelt across his body. “Okay”

And they drove to the final destination before going home. The place that would be the silent witness of their wedding in 3 months. The thought brought a smile upon his face, he knew Luhan had been attaching his heart on that place since that afternoon. And it only compelled him to be more eager to make it came true.

He laughed when Luhan jammed to the rap song on the radio. His Korean improvised a lot since the first time they met. Well, his accent to be exact. He might pass as a Korean with his look and accent alone by now. But due to his homesickness, sometimes the Chinese conversed in Mandarin with Minseok and Yixing once in a while, most of the time it was the latter since they both were born Chinese. Or if he might want to add, in bed, with his _Chanli_.

Within 15 minutes’ drive, Luhan and Chanyeol found themselves hand in hand walked through the hotel’s entrance to the reception desk in high spirits. They kept joking and laughing all the way since this morning like nothing could pop their happy bubble. Chanyeol left a little breathless when they stopped right before the desk. The young clerk greeted them with all smiles. “Hi, we’d like to confirm the book we made last Friday for the outdoor venue”

“Can you please give me the name and dates, sir?” And the girl started to type on the keyboard as Chanyeol told her the required information. Today might be the perfect start to their wedding plan agenda. If the venue officially secured, he could begin to prepare for the wedding organizer to let them chose their preferences. Would white, gold, and green perfect? Or should they add purple instead of green since Luhan might like it? The thought alone made him giddy with excitement, his 3 months leave should be worth it.

Not long after, the clerk girl looked up from her computer, “we apologize sir, but a new book has been made 10 minutes ago.”

A frown made its way to his face in an instant, “what? But we were told the book will be expired today and we still have a few hours” Chanyeol’s tone grew annoyed. Damn if he wasn’t, the fact that a big hotel company like Shilla would make a mistake like this was simply unnerving.

The girl who got flustered from his sudden change of mood from jolly to irritation, trying to showcase a placating smile albeit failed miserably. “Please just wait a moment, sir” and then she reached for the landline to make a call to whoever responsible for the booking. He side-eyed his lover whose face morphed into confusion rather than annoyance, as they listened to the one-side conversation. The receptionist who went by the name Kim Sohee on the gold nametag pinned to her chest, still struggled to maintain her professional façade as the call went. Something about whatever the other line might say to her made her anxious, if the stutter was any indication. When the call ended, her uneasiness became more evident as her hands wrung together whilst an apologetic smile sent their way. “We really apologize for the inconvenience, sir. Unfortunately, we couldn’t cancel the current booking. But we still have other options available for your dates. Would you like to give it a look?”

“No, I want that one. We booked it first.” Chanyeol pointed his finger on the marble desk with determination. He couldn’t just let it slide easily. The part in him who demanded justice couldn’t just sit and watch. “At least, tell us a reasonable explanation as to why we’re not a priority” insisted the lawyer. He could feel Luhan’s worried glance directed at him, probably warring his own conscience whether to intervene to stop his fiancée before things went awry, or to listen to the reason which neither of them was sure it would be plausible enough without offending them in any way. “Go ahead, and say it” the tone in his voice raised, enough to bring the attention of young couple next to them.

Luhan eventually chose the first option as he reached for his arm, “Yeol, let’s just go, we can find another place“

“Are you going to let them treat us unfairly like that?” His menacing eyes met the soft doe-like ones, fury blazed in them although it wasn’t directed to his lover. Chanyeol was obviously having none of it, even Luhan couldn’t stop him, the blonde seemed to realize it too, thus remained silent.

When he glared back to the girl, she was cowering under his fierce gaze, “I… “ she looked like a gaping fish at this point, probably trying to muster up a reason which didn’t end up with her losing her job. Chanyeol knew it wasn’t her fault, but his exasperation got the best of him and he needed an outlet, which unfortunately, she was the perfect target at the moment.“M-Mr. Byun Baekhyun’s family has been our loyal customer” the mention of the name undoubtedly meant to justify the discrimination, yet Chanyeol only knitted his brows, clearly missed the point.

“I don’t care who the hell Byun Baekhyun is! Just because he has been the loyal customer, do you think I don’t have the same potential?” this time, some passerby turned their heads in nosy manner. He was past caring at this point, his gaze didn’t even waver when the girl kept sending pleading looks to her colleagues who were still busy to notice, or maybe they just pretended to be. Luhan continued his attempt to appease his anger by tugging at his arm a little harder. Instead of hearing his name called by his lover’s soft familiar tone, he was met with a foreign deep voice.

“Park Chanyeol?”

“Mama just called, and- Hey!” Baekhyun ran to reclaim his seat back on the couch, quickly grabbing his own console and jammed the buttons furiously, “you’re cheating!” the health bar on his avatar deteriorated almost in half as Sehun’s bulky character kept throwing punches and kicks on Baekhyun’s sexy goddess fighter. “What the hell?! That’s unfair! I told you to pause until I come back. Ugh, bastard!” He cursed out loud when he saw Sehun successfully managed to charge heavy combo attack on his girl.

“Take that, bitch!” Sehun released a comical evil laugh, he was clearly enjoying his cowardly way to win. It was only fair for him to do it since Baekhyun had been winning for 5 times meanwhile he just gained 2 in the past 2 hours they played the PlayStation. So, when Baekhyun finally took his toilet break, he knew his only golden chance to win came in a wicked way. That huge boobs fighter Baekhyun had chosen began to get on his nerve, how she defeated his monstrous heroes was quite irritating, or maybe his little lover just that good in video games, of course there was no way for him to admit that out loud, on his face especially.

Just a quarter left on the bar to victory, he bit his tongue in concentration. And suddenly, a cushion slapped against his face, “you fucker!” his cries muffled by the soft material as he grappled to free his sight. Sehun still struggled with Baekhyun’s attempt to sit on his laps whilst pushing his back to keep the cushion blinded him. Both of them and their player were blindly groaning and striving to over throw each other. In less than 5 minutes, Baekhyun accomplished to even their health bar. With Sehun’s new tactics to distract him with tickles, he missed the fact that he gave his opponent to create assortment of strikes movement before once again Sehun’s player sprawled on the ground, and an unnecessarily oversized _LOSE_ displayed on his side. He whined even more to see Baekhyun stood up and threw his fists in the air in victory.

“Ha! You can’t win against me, loser!” It was unbelievable that someone with ‘Hawaiian Pizza’ as his username could win against his badass ‘Lord of Death’, the name alone didn’t seem convincing enough! Fuck that, maybe it was partly his fault to name his own as that since he kept ended up dying.

The taller unable to contain his unhappiness, pointed a finger at him, “there must be some superior attack power she has! I’m claiming her next!” he was ready to restart the game, fumbling with his console infuriatedly.

“The hell you can’t! She’s mine!” Baekhyun snatched the console in his hands.

“Then, let’s play another game. This one sucks anyway.”

Before he could, his boyfriend held him down. “Wait, mama just called me”

Sehun arched his eyebrow, “did you just bring your phone with you to the toilet now?”

Baekhyun shot him an unamused glare, “you were the one who told me I should! Do you want me to whack your head?” Sehun only snickered, messing with his cranky moody boyfriend had always been fun.

Baekhyun and his sarcastic remarks never failed to amuse him. He held up his hands in truce, “alright, alright. What did she say?”

The other pulled out his iPhone from his sweatpants, then tapping the screen a few times before handing him the smartphone with lists on the Note. “Mama wants us to check out the venues she had listed”

Sehun’s eyes briefly scanned the names of hotels and buildings he already familiar with, all located in Seoul. Been attending formal events of Korea’s conglomerates and celebrities for almost all his lives, it wasn’t hard to choose sophisticated places preferred by these people. “In Seoul? I thought she’d pick Jeju”

Baekhyun only shrugged his shoulders as he turned off the TV and game consoles then putting them back in place. “You know, perhaps because of my dad?” Mr. Byun developed a phobia of flights ever since the private jet he was on from Japan nearly crashed due to engine failure. From then on, the elder avoided travelling by plane, if it involved business matters, he would prefer to send representative on his stead, and with Baekhyun’s position as the COO, he completely delegated the overseas trip to his son now.

Sehun nodded in acknowledge. “Okay, so we’ll just have to choose which one from the list then call up, right? I’ll let you do the pick”

The suggestion was met with a flat glare from his boyfriend. “What an excited groom you are” the latter’s tone dripped in sarcasm.

“It’s not like that. You know how I’m sucks with this kind of thing. I’ve never got married before” Then he was hit once again by the cushion from earlier, “Ow!”

“That is for thinking I’m a fucking widow!” The smaller harrumphed whilst folding his arms in grouchy manner.

Sehun chuckled after realizing his mistake, “fine, let’s discuss on it. Which one do you want?” he handed back the phone to its owner.

Baekhyun seemed to ponder on what he would say for quite some time, “if it’s going to be on spring. I think outdoor venues would be great. Like garden-themed wedding. We have some outdoors on the lists” he checked up the Note on his phone, pursing his lips in deep thought. Despite being two years older than Sehun, Baekhyun was indeed looked younger than his actual age, even himself. The baby-faced male started to name numbers of venues to vote, yet he couldn’t be bothered as his eyes traced the other’s smooth milky skin, the moles on his cheek and near his lips, and no sign of aging present on his face. He never took these little appreciations of Baekhyun before, thus forging a new idea to his mind: Is this what he’s going to see when he wakes up every morning until he’s able to find the first wrinkle on his face?

“Sehun, are you listening?” The thought suddenly dispersed as Baekhyun’s peeved expression appeared.

“Yeah…” he replied, wondering whether he caught red-handed staring and daydreaming.

“What do you think?”

He scratched on his nape, “uh… that’s nice?” unsure on what to answer.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes in exasperation, “ugh, God, you’re a hopeless case” then planting his face on his palms.

“You can’t blame me! I’ve told you I’m not good with this! Hey, where are you going?” He saw his boyfriend stood up.

“I think I’ll be going crazy if I spend another day holed up with you.” Baekhyun gave him an unbelievable look like _wasn’t it obvious?_

Sehun snorted at that, “as if you’re not” he muttered lowly, but apparently the other caught it as murderous glare aimed at him.

“What did you just say?”

_Uh-oh._

Baekhyun was serious when he said they needed to get fresh air instead of lazing around the house for the entire weekend since they had spent the day before on gaming and movie marathon. So, here they were, in the car driving their way up to the destination of their venue choosing—Baekhyun’s, actually—instead of call up and book like the initial plan. It wasn’t their first or second time going there, but for the sakes’ of being productive, they did. Might as well had some dinner before going home.

Upon their arrival in the hotel, the couple welcomed by the manager’s million-watt smile as he escorted them outdoor. The garden was still decorated in a thin layer of snow from the heavy sleet nights before. Mr. Lee stroke a conversation with Baekhyun regarding his father’s well-beings as he zoned out in distance, trying to vision the upcoming wedding within 3 months in this place. The idea of the wedding with his best friend slash boyfriend still hadn’t settled well in him. Well, it was only 2 days since the announcement after all, better gave it more time, he thought.

He slipped his hands inside the gray slacks’ pocket, then released a deep sigh he didn’t know he held as faint wisp of air came out between his parted lips. His old self might laugh at him if he could see him in a tuxedo married to someone. He hadn’t been so deep in love to think of something as tied to one person in his whole life. With Baekhyun, he could say they basically tied to each other even long before love came. So, this whole concept of married to Byun Baekhyun still remained as an abstract to him.

“Have you gentlemen decided on the date, so we can check if it’s available to book?” Mr. Lee and his professional tone distracted him from his musings.

Oh, right. They still hadn’t settled the date. Baekhyun looked at him in alarm, probably didn’t want to embarrass them further by coming here without discussing something as essential as date. “April twelfth” he spontaneously said, choosing his birthday as it was the first thing to come to his mind. The man, still with his too bright smile, bowed his head a little to excuse himself from them as he retreated somewhere.

Baekhyun walked up to him whilst fumbling with his phone, “I need to call Mama before we made the deal” of course, what would they have become if Mama wasn’t there to supervise their decision on this whole wedding preparation? But he didn’t say anything as Baekhyun filled her up with the information on the venue and the newly decided date.

After the 5 minutes call ended, Baekhyun turned at him, “she said the family had agreed on April twentieth” Sehun internally face-palmed, he just made his first decision on this wedding, and look where it went. Nothing!

The tell-tale of shoe soles against the corridor brought their attention to the approaching manager, “the internal garden is available for your requested date” he informed them.

“We’d like to change it to April twentieth please” at Baekhyun’s request, the man asked them to wait some more as he busied himself with the newly brought iPad.

They waited in silence for a mere minutes before Mr. Lee spoke again, “gentlemen, April twentieth is available as well, would you like to secure the date?”

Before he could reply, Baekhyun answered without hesitation, “yes, please”

The sound of the automatic faucet drowned all his thought once more. Sehun looked at his reflection, not as a handsome man adorned in Louis Vuitton navy sweater, but as a soon-to-be-groom who left his boyfriend in the middle of filling out the booking form of their wedding venue. He pulled his hands from the running water which halted the sensor to a stop as well, leaving the restroom in complete silence. He seriously needed to get his shit together. Whatever troubled his mind, he hoped he could deal with them sooner before the wedding day. Alright, just let the thought of wedding slowly sink in, and he would be fine. Three months should be enough. He breathed out as he gave himself a fixed gaze on the mirror one last time before marching his way out.

The hotel was quite packed for a low season, he noticed as he treaded into the opulent foyer filled with Caucasians and faint buzz of foreign languages, he couldn’t point out what it was. Until a boisterous voice in Korean caught within his earshot. His head angled toward the possible source in reflex which around the receptionist desk to a tall figure whose side-profile was almost too familiar to recognize. He squinted his eyes to focus on the man’s façade as his mind tried to match a name, legs unconsciously trudged closer in curiosity. “Park Chanyeol?”

As the man turned around, there wasn’t any doubt in those unique pairs of ears and eyes. He was indeed Park Chanyeol! “Oh Sehun?” the other asked, a bit unsure.

“God, it’s really you!” The doctor beamed at the realization, his hand thrusted to catch his old friend’s as he shook them a little too excitedly, “how have you been?”

The man, Park Chanyeol, who seemed upset to whatever he was dealing minutes before, lit up like a whole new person. Apparently, Chanyeol and his capricious demeanor hadn’t changed after years they were apart.

His old friend let out a light deep chuckle as he patted on his shoulder, “Oh my God, unbelievable! I’m great. Wow, what happened to the lanky _maknae_ back in high school?” Those playful huge eyes gauged him up and down. Sehun only laughed heartily at the teasing remark. “Seriously, I’ve been trying to reach out to you in Hanyul, but- Oh! Sehun, Meet my fiancée, Luhan. And Luhan, this is the Oh Sehun I’ve once talked about” Chanyeol warped his arm around a petite male with the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. As he bowed a little and smiled at him.

“Oh, I know you” the look of surprise displayed on both males’ faces, though it looked more obvious on Luhan as his eyes grew bigger like a deer caught in headlights. “You’re a doctor in the pediatric department, right? We passed by each other once”

The other merely blinked a few times before eventually some kind of realization dawned upon him, “ah, yes. I did remember”

He might imagine it, but he immediately noticed the vague rose blossomed on his cheeks or maybe it just how they normally looked like, it didn’t seem out of place though. Sehun didn’t know Chanyeol was playing for the other team, since he used to date chicks back then. But if this male he was into, well, even straight men would think twice.

“What brings you here, anyway?” Chanyeol’s eyes gave him a once over for the second time, probably wondering what kind of event he attended with a casual dress code as he was currently wearing.

“I’m here with my boyfriend, or maybe fiancée?” he slipped a chuckle to ward off the foreign taste of a particular word on his tongue. “We’re currently looking for a perfect wedding venue, and I think Shilla has one of the best”

“What a coincidence! We definitely thought the same too! Also, congrats, man!”

Now it was Sehun’s turn to look surprised, “wow, congratulation for you both as well!” his old friend grinned and thanked him, then he shook hands with the couple for congratulating each other’s upcoming wedding.

“So, when is it?” asked the petite male for the first time.

“The initial plan was on my birthday, April twelfth. But the family has agreed on April twentieth, so…” before he could continue on his words, his eyes caught the sight of Baekhyun and Mr. Lee strolled from the direction of the internal garden. “Ah, there he is. Baek!” He raised his arm in the air as he called his boyfriend’s name a few feet away, who quickly reacted to his yell then proceeded to where they stood. When the latter was close enough, he pulled him to his side, “guys, here’s Baekhyun” Sehun threw them a smile.

The two only shared a confused look, then Chanyeol opened his mouth, “Byun Baekhyun?” Sehun wouldn’t be shocked if Baekhyun’s name seemed to ring a bell on some people. Because who didn’t know him if his name almost never left the Forbes’ South Korean Billionaire list in these past years?

“Yes, I’m Byun Baekhyun. Nice to meet you, Mister…?” Baekhyun trailed off as he held out his hand in invitation a little too long since the respond got delayed a few seconds.

“Park Chanyeol, and he’s my fiancée, Luhan” and they took turn to handshake rigidly. However, instead of awe and admiration, Sehun easily noticed the sudden change of the poise they emitted ever since Baekhyun’s name mentioned. Apparently, he wasn’t the one who felt that way when the aforementioned subject flashed a questioning look at him which he mirrored in reply.

“Is there something wrong?” Baekhyun tried, eyeing the couple nervously.

Again, both males stole a glance at each other prior to Chanyeol’s words, “actually, it’s… uh…”

The flute’s rim felt cold against his lips as he savored the sparkling liquid slowly. Chopin’s Nocturnes played somewhere in distance couldn’t even seem to ease the remnant of awkwardness between the four men on the table. After Chanyeol filled them in on what actually happened and Mr. Lee’s millions apologizes later, here they were in the hotel’s restaurant, sipping on the complimentary champagne as a compensation. Though the man still gave the manager a stink eye the last time he checked up on them asking whether the champagne was okay, and an offer just in case they changed their mind back to red wine.

Baekhyun placed the flute back on the white tablecloth, as he sat with back too straight to be relaxed, “for the last time, I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, although it’s unintentional.”

Chanyeol, a little panicky, interjected, “No, it’s really not your fault. Since we’ve settled the problem, I guess Luhan and I are fine.” The _Yeong Bin Gwan_ internal garden eventually ended up as Chanyeol and Luhan’s, meanwhile he and Baekhyun secured the external garden, albeit it wasn’t as pretty as the former but at least it provided a larger space which their family would gladly accept the benefit with open arms. Truthfully speaking, neither him nor Baekhyun would care much about where the wedding took place, though their family might beg to differ since they had reputation and associates to impress.

“Alright, let’s move on then,” Sehun followed Baekhyun’s prior act to put down his own drink. “I’d like to know how have you been doing, _hyung_. Last time, I recalled you were preparing for your bar exam, right? And,” his eyes drifted to the beautiful male next to his old friend, “how did Luhan- _ssi_ meet our Chanyeol _hyung_?” he threw a laid-back smile to them both.

“Yeah, it went well. It was around the same time I met Luhan. A little bit nerdy, but we met at the public library. Long story short, we always occupied the same table until late night, he’s so cute that I couldn’t help not to ask him out,” Chanyeol laughed meanwhile his lover just smiled timidly, Sehun might not voice it out loud, but he agreed with what Chanyeol said about Luhan. “He declined my advance for 5 times before finally said yes. Didn’t know that would be a fateful day for me to find the love of my life” it sounded so cheesy, yet the look of admiration glinted off from Chanyeol’s eyes were too hard to ignore. He wondered what could possibly bring them together, obviously Chanyeol and Luhan were the opposite of each other, that he could pretty much tell in the first thirty minutes since their earlier meeting in the lobby when the couple got into a private dispute between Chanyeol’s insistence on reclaiming the venue while Luhan preferred to let it go considering Baekhyun had proceeded with the payment.

“And now I have my own law firm. But after the last big case I’ve worked on, I’m taking 3 months leave from the firm, I’d like to do something else for now while focusing on the wedding preparation, seeing that Luhan barely settled in the hospital and won’t much have time to do it.” Chanyeol arranged the napkin on his laps as the waitress placed the main course before them. Sehun still remembered Chanyeol’s face on the news some time ago, declaring a controversial promise to the public that he could bring out the truth behind the allegation of underaged rapes in a private primary school involving a teacher and a daughter of a renown news platform tycoon. The case had gotten some attention even to international’s eyes due to the oddity of the evidences and some things weren’t adding up. Which ended with the lawyer got the recognition he deserved after proved the teacher innocence and went against people with such power definitely needed no small amount of bravery. He was thinking about getting back in touch with Chanyeol after it was over, but apparently Chanyeol had been overwhelmed with job offerings as his face kept appearing on interviews for weeks and Sehun had been too preoccupied on his own to remember his initial plan.

“Oh? Luhan- _ssi_ is still new to the hospital? For how long?” Sehun mimicked Chanyeol’s act with his own napkin, shifting his attention fully to Luhan in pure interest.

Luhan who just thanked the servant after getting his second refill of champagne with the same polite smile still intact on his pretty face, lightly replied, “yes, I’ve been working there since last October. An old friend of mine asked me to join him when Hanyul were looking for pediatrician. It’s an honor to work in your hospital, doctor Oh” again, Luhan showcased his sweet smile, not flirty, just enough to capture anyone’s heart.

“Actually, it’s the other way around. We feel grateful to have competent doctors like you in our hospital.” he returned the cordial smile before dug in on the tenderloin. It almost melted into his mouth right away, and so the four of them savored the entrée in a more comfortable atmosphere. Never once he imagined himself going on a double date, well it wasn’t officially an intentional one, but still. He should get used to it by now, keeping in mind when his and Baekhyun’s family finally merged, there would be lots of dinners and luncheons they had to be present as a wedded couple to entertain their potential business partner soon in the future.

“Anyway,” he looked up to see the man seated across from him reached for the half-filled crystal ware, “what about you two? Aren’t both of you best friend since born? What happened?” Chanyeol inquired with a bit of tease in his tone.

This time, Baekhyun took the initiative to reply, “well, we get used to each other’s presence for so long to realize we truly care one another. You know, the kind of best friend who confided their love story on each other,” this brought a chuckle to everyone in the table. “We were like that. Somehow, at the end of the day, we only have each other to pat our backs for all the sucks relationships we were in.” Sehun’s mind subconsciously drifted back to that night where his cheek still burned with a slap from that Miss Korea he had been sleeping with for half a year after he said he didn’t feel the same way about her and Baekhyun who got wasted as he shredded a wedding invitation from his jerk of a boyfriend into pieces. “And so, we happened.” Baekhyun gave him a side glance which he countered with a bitter laugh, shaking his head in hope to shoo away the distant memories to the back of his mind.

Then his boyfriend gestured for the servant to come, “can I have Iced Americano, please?”

Sehun turned sharply to him, losing his chance to cancel the request when the guy agreed and fled away too quickly as though knowing the conflict was about to set off. “Baek, tune down your caffeine intakes, will you? It’s getting unhealthier now” he reprimanded in soft tone, despite the subtle drawn up of his brows.

“I was supposed to work on Delight yesterday. I keep on procrastinating these days, so I need my coffee tonight.”

 _Delight._ An imaginary bulb above his head lit at that. “Hey, _hyung._ You’re still doing interior design?” Baekhyun’s ears perked up, perhaps already sensing where the topic would go from there.

The lawyer gave a nod at the same time munching on the meat piece, “yeah, not as frequent as I used to though, why are you asking?”

Even back in high school, Sehun always caught the senior made those sketches in between their band practices. And later on, some miniatures in his room. Apparently, being the DIY type of guy he was, interior design seemed to fit his interest. He was almost sure Chanyeol was going to aim for it as his college major, if the latter didn’t point out it was nothing more than a hobby.

“Baekhyun wants to open his own restaurant and bar in Cheongdam. He doesn’t want to hire a professional interior designer, saying he wants to ‘give birth’ to it or whatever that means. But I don’t see him making any progress with it.”

The small COO looked like he was ready to retaliate with snarky comments, thankfully with the presence of the two guests, he held off his tongue, “It’s not like that! And for your information, I am making progress, you just never bother to ask!” here we go again, the sulky Baekhyun mode as he pouted with the petulant expression Sehun already familiar with.

“Oh, I think I can help with that,” the couple looked up at the lawyer who shifted his eyes alternately between them two. “I mean, I understand what Baekhyun- _ssi_ means with ‘giving birth’ to the place” the man air-quoted the words, “and hiring a professional will absolutely ruin that. As someone who merely learnt from workshops, maybe I can help giving tips here and there.” He casually suggested. From the corner of his eyes, after hearing the suggestion offered by Chanyeol, Baekhyun’s initial resolve to refuse quickly vanished into the thin air.

“Nobody would believe you if they saw what you did with Yoora _noona_ ’s café” Sehun remarked. The older only cackled at the compliment. He must admit, Chanyeol was a multi-talent person. He might have to list the things the guy couldn’t do rather than those he could.

“Of course, my offer stands only if Baekhyun- _ssi_ wants to, until then,” Chanyeol pulled his wallet out and withdrew two cards, “this is my contacts” he handed them each his name card, big font _Park & Partners_ embossed at the center of the black card in gold.

“Thank you, I’ll think about it” Baekhyun said, slipping the little piece of paper into the card holder.

Sehun did the same to his own, clutching his fingers back to the glass’ stem afterward. “So, how’s your mom and Yoora _noona_?”


	4. regardless of time, place, or circumstance

Baekhyun was 100% positive it was Park Chanyeol that he encountered the other night. Yet the weird thing was there was absolutely nothing to indicate the guy recognized him as anything other than the fact that he unknowingly used his influence to seize a wedding venue. He face-palmed inwardly, feeling utterly silly and a little disappointed.

“Baek, are you okay?”

His eyes opened, trying so hard to break his face from frowning too much. Sehun gave him a worried glance before focusing back on the road ahead. “I guess so” he propped his elbow against the bottom of the window surface to massage his temple. Damn, his head started to throb, he hoped it wasn’t the caffeine acting up. This wasn’t the right time to deal with Sehun’s I-told-you-so attitude.

“I still can’t get over that it’s Chanyeol we got bumped into of all people. Same place, same day. What could be any weirder than this wedding?” Sehun chattered, drumming his fingers on the wheel in tune to the music. The coincidental meeting with Luhan and Chanyeol seemed to lift up his mood. The drinks, foods, and conversations were unexpectedly good, even to himself. However, that one single thought kept bothering him until they settled back in the car, did he dare to draw the conclusion he made earlier. _This wedding made me felt weird already_ , he wanted to say, yet choosing to regard the question as rhetorical instead.

“You used to hate him though” his lover shrugged in nonchalant. He _what?_ “yeah, you never said it but I knew you got jealous whenever I ditched you to practice with the band”

Sehun tittered meanwhile Baekhyun shot him a confused look, “what are you talking about?”

The other stole a cursory glance at him, “did you really not remember? Well, I hadn’t basically introduced you two yet, you went all hostile every time I brought his name up. And since then you kept referring him as _Yoda_ ” Oh. Yeah, if Chanyeol was that _Yoda_ guy it did make sense. He got used to think of him as _Yoda_ with how unusually big his ears were to even remember his real name. “You told me if you were gay, he’s definitely your type to date and-“

“Okay, enough, stop. I remember, alright. Do you really have to say that?” Seriously, the smaller male began to wonder for real if Sehun had that natural ability to push his buttons effortlessly. Moreover, that rascal was enjoying it too much to even care to hide it. And why the hell it had to be the first thing came to his mind that time he saw him with Sehun when he picked him up at school?

Being young and foolishly in love he was during middle school, Baekhyun went as far as rebelled against his parents to allow him to enroll to the same public high school as his girlfriend, Nam Hyojin. Meanwhile two years after, Sehun got accepted in international school they were supposed to go. By then, Sehun was the first one to discover his sexuality between them to date a football jock from the senior class. So, it was feasible for his bi-curious side to kick in when he caught the glimpse of the tall figure, with curly brown hair, and bespectacled eyes from the backseat of his car. No one could blame him if he didn’t recognize the current Park Chanyeol, because obviously he was the Cinderella at the ball now!

“Don’t you dare to deny that you think I don’t see the way you look at his fiancée!” he accused, aiming his finger at him.

“Oh, yeah? Like what?” Sehun challenged as he stepped on the brake at the red light.

“Like…” Baekhyun trailed off. It was hard to explain. But there was certainly something about each time Sehun zeroed his attention on him. “Like- I don’t know! Like you’re attracted to him!” the older of the two threw his hands up in frustration.

Sehun scoffed before shifting his foot back on the accelerator, “you’re blind if you say he’s not attractive. Oh, come on, Baek, are you still jealous with Chanyeol?”

“The hell like I would!” he would be dead before he tried to admit that with his own mouth. Because honestly, he was. It almost felt like the pent-up jealousy from years ago came back to bite him in the ass.

“Then why were you stop talking to me for a week after I chose to hang out with him?” right after he asked that annoying question, the car pulled up outside his apartment’s lobby. _What the fuck with that question?_

“Why wouldn’t I be mad when I exclusively invited my best friend to try on my brand-new up-to-date game console—which had yet released in South Korea at that time, mind you—only to get rejected over some old insignificant bass in that guy’s garage? You got to be kidding me!” He unbuckled the seatbelt a little too harsh than intended, it could snap for all he cared!

“It’s not just a bass, it was Eric Clapton’s!” Sehun argued which only made everything sounded more ridiculous than it already had with this stupid conversation.

“I don’t give a damn whose it was as long as it’s not John Lennon’s!” Baekhyun tried to pull open the door only to find it still locked. He turned to the driver side about to ask him to unlock it before he had to kick his door off, when he was only met with a sneer instead.

“So… you finally admitted you were jealous…”

He could feel fumes coming out from both his ears, “I hate you!”

 _Fuck the lock!_ He opened then slammed the door close in a full force to shut off Sehun’s infuriating laugh in vain when the window descended, “I love you too” that brat dared to give him one last ridiculous grin before revving up the engine and drove off, possibly knowing he wouldn’t hesitate to hurl his shoe at his face.

 _Ugh, Oh Sehun was such an insufferable asshole!_ God, what he gonna do with an asshole husband?

It had been 48 hours post the night he dedicated himself to stop dilly-dallying on Delight. His initial plan was for his restaurant to be ready for the grand opening before the wedding. Or else it might get delayed some more with all the marriage stuffs. Within those hours, the only thing he managed to make was the hanging lamps after hesitating between those and the string lamps for 3 hours. Of all times, why the inspiration wouldn’t come now when he had his once in a blue moon downtime? Thanks to Mama Oh, of course. She, without a doubt, was the one who provoked the idea that it was best for his dad to cut him some slack to focus on the wedding preparation. The COO had no idea what it was between Mama Oh and this wedding preparation or whether she did it simply because she was that excited to welcome her son-in-law to the family.

A sigh escaped his lips as his unenthusiastic eyes swept over the furniture online catalogue in these past hours since he arrived in the office at 8am on the dot. A buzz came from the phone perched next to the Mac broke his attention.

_**Kyungsoo** : How dare you told me just now!_

The Kakaotalk message brought a smile upon his lips. Baekhyun told his best friend he would be getting married 4 days late was intentional. No particular reason, he just liked to mess with that devil once in a while. Or maybe he just wanted the revenge that Kyungsoo once did the same to him when his dancer boyfriend, Jongin, accidentally knocked him up only weeks after he got his surgery done. Although, Baekhyun didn’t buy the alibi much. He knew Kyungsoo’s dad wasn’t too fond of his choice of boyfriend. The idea was a little bit absurd, yet it worked for them anyway, besides who the hell took a male pregnancy program before marriage? It didn’t matter now since the little family moved out to Kyoto to live with Kyungsoo’s parents after the baby was born. His dad apparently was so smitten by the baby boy to insist them to look after him while they were working. Raeon would be ready to go to kindergarten this year, and the two decided it would be best for their son to take his first school in their homeland in which he proposed the idea for Kyungsoo to work as a chef in his upcoming restaurant with flexible time.

They didn’t hang out much after they went separate ways after high school. Baekhyun for his business school and Kyungsoo for culinary. The last time they met would probably when he got an overseas meeting in Osaka and Raeon was barely 3. The notion that he would have his best friend, the famous chef Do Kyungsoo, back in Korea to work at Delight excited him.

Not long after the first buzz, other sequences followed.

_**Kyungsoo** : Nevermind. I know it’s just you being a prick to me as usual._   
_**Kyungsoo** : Congratulations._   
_**Kyungsoo** : too bad I can’t congratulate Sehun._   
_**Kyungsoo** : having you as a husband is not something worth a celebration after all._

Baekhyun nearly seethed when he saw the preview, he snatched the phone grouchily enough to knock the thing next to it off the desk. The COO huffed even more as he bended down to grab the leather business card case. At the sight of the card case, the thought of what was he recently put inside invaded his mind.

He closed his eyes as he leaned back on the comfy chair. When he said he would give it a thought few days ago, he didn’t mean for it to haunt him every chance it got. His fingers fumbled to open the case then extracted an elegant piece of card with a name, email, phone number, and office address all written on it. He stared at it far too long as though it would give him the answer he needed. Byun Baekhyun couldn’t find it in himself to wrap his head around what made him hadn’t said yes to the offer in the first place. Could it be that incident in the restroom? But the man had made it clear that he didn’t recall any of it. Not even a blink of recognition was shown on his face. Then what else? He might get nonsensical with all the jumbled mess on his brain that he started to worry about some baseless speculations. Yes, that most likely the only logical explanation at the moment. Then he proceeded to ignore Kyungsoo’s messages to dial on the numbers printed on the card.

“Hello?” For a moment, Baekhyun just lost on what to say. Did he really need his help? Or should he end the call now that he wasn’t so sure anymore? What the hell was wrong with him?! “Hello?” the deep baritone voice tried again, louder this time.

“Um… Hello” Baekhyun almost cursed out loud when he heard how pathetic his voice was. It wasn’t his usual all business-like self!

“May I know who I’m speaking with?”

Hell yeah, couldn’t he be more embarrassing than he already had? Apparently, he could. “I’m sorry. This is Byun Baekhyun“

“Ah, yes, Oh Sehun’s fiancée, right?” he slightly grimaced at the title. Not that he disliked it, yet rather it sounded new and unfamiliar. And it wasn’t what he intended to say, but it wasn’t wrong either.

“Yes” he replied.

“Very well, is there anything I can help you with, Byun Baekhyun- _ssi_?”

There was some loud cheer of people in the background which presumably Park Chanyeol took his 3 months vacation seriously to have fun and chill at noon. “Um, I was thinking about the offer the other day. I think I need your help with the design.”

Then a vague holler of _Chanyeol-ah, your turn!_ caught on the speaker before a click of a door and all the noise receded completely. “Oh, sure. When do you want me to start?”

“Do you have some time today to check out the place?” Baekhyun absentmindedly drew an imaginary doodle with his finger on his dress pants, a habit he developed during a phone call. He frowned upon realizing the drawing he made about the green Star Wars’ character with big ears.

“Yeah, where is it again?” Chanyeol asked.

“In Cheongdam” he answered.

“Alright, could you give me 2 hours? I’m in a bowling alley around Cheongdam, so it’s pretty close”

Baekhyun unconsciously nodded, “okay, I’ll send you the complete address later. Thank you, Chanyeol- _ssi_ ”

“No problem” he could sense the smile on his tone yet thought nothing of it as the line ended.

They met two hours later as promised in the afternoon. The two of them looked so contrast against each other from the second Chanyeol got off from that monstrous Mercedes-AMG G65 cladded in a casual hoodie, ripped jeans, and a cap meanwhile Baekhyun with his white Audi RS7, crisp button-up, and perfectly-styled hair. After greeted one another and an apology on Chanyeol’s part for being too casual with his clothes which Baekhyun quickly waved off, they rode up to the top floor of the building.

By the time Baekhyun unlocked the door and stepped into the place, they were greeted by a high glass roof and a huge black grids window overseeing Seoul in one picturesque frame of Namsan Tower, Hangang River, and its buildings along with coral skies. “Wow” Chanyeol whispered next to him as his long legs brought him closer to the window. It was an expected reaction of anyone every time their vision pleased with such beauty only Delight could provide, including himself when he fell in love at the first sight with this place. He followed behind the other who touched the glass in awe. “Amazing” again, the tall guy whispered, more to himself. Then he diverted his gaze from the scenery to look at him, “your place is amazing” he said with an almost child-like grin and a look which he got acquainted a lot in most people in this place. The sole reason of its name. Delight.

“Thank you” Baekhyun smiled like a proud parent.

And Chanyeol twirled around to face the stairs leading to a mezzanine under the vaulted glass ceiling. The man’s head titled a little like a puppy. A beagle. Baekhyun decided when the other took his time long enough to think about whatever he tried so hard to conceive. “ _Romita Comedor_ ” he eventually said.

Now it was Baekhyun’s turn to be confused, “pardon?”

“It reminds me of one restaurant I’ve visited in Mexico City. It’s called _Romita Comedor_ ” Chanyeol might be too busy to inspect the ceiling to notice Baekhyun’s lips formed an ‘O’ as he nodded a bit dumbly. “Okay, do you mind if I wander around to take pictures and details?”

The sky was dark when they were done and back in the parking lot. Sehun worked until late tonight, so he didn’t have to worry about his boyfriend suddenly barged into his apartment and robbed his fridge. That guy really had a serious problem with filling up his own groceries. Baekhyun used to bother him to do it himself instead of asking his father’s personal assistant to do it for him. Although sometimes Baekhyun took a pity on him to pay a visit only to throw out expired milk and rotten vegetables, and of course the good Samaritan in him stocked up that poor excuse of groceries too.

“Baekhyun- _ssi_ , do you need to be somewhere after this? Because we still need to discuss some things about the preferences” Chanyeol’s voice broke his thought about the monthly groceries he needed to do.

“No, of course we can do it now if you want” maybe the groceries could wait.

Chanyeol seemed to hesitate for a while before opening his mouth, “I know a place around here where we could talk comfortably, and maybe have some dinner” the taller offered. Without much thought, Baekhyun agreed and was about to make a U-turn toward his car when the lawyer called his name. “The place is only a few blocks away. But since there’s some reconstruction going on around, I’m afraid it’ll be hard to find a parking spot, would you mind if we use my car?” Baekhyun’s eyes drifted to where Chanyeol’s thumb motioned to the SUV behind him. He just realized how that G-Class vehicle fitted Chanyeol’s overall appearance. If that thing could be personified that would be its owner.

Like any others previous suggestions Chanyeol had made, he had no trouble went along with it. “Oh, okay then”

Chanyeol strode to the passenger side to open the door for him as he thanked the man. Then they went to the destination the former had in mind with a tuned down Radiohead’s _Creep_ accompanied their journey after Baekhyun nearly jumped out his seat when the music blasted out in a volume which could bust anyone’s eardrums, but not Chanyeol’s, and told him he could keep it playing.

“So…” Chanyeol still had that sheepish smile on his face, subsequently adjusting the cap on his messy strands. “What makes you think to open the restaurant? I mean, you’re successful in what you’re doing with your company” the man made sure to hold his gaze on him no more than 3 seconds whilst driving around the block. Baekhyun couldn’t help not to be impressed by how attentive and polite the lawyer was. Surrounded by kids with silver spoon in their mouth, sometimes these snobs tended to disregard basic manners just because they had status and wealth to compensate their hideous behaviors.

Baekhyun casually returned the same gestures, alternating between eyeing the street and Chanyeol’s expressive mien. “Actually, it’s not something I initially planned. An acquaintance of mine needed that place to be sold quickly. I was ready to turn him down until he convinced me to check it out myself. And,” he shrugged, “as you can see, it’s difficult not fall in love with her beauty. I was thinking about a coffee shop, since I love coffee, but later thought better of it as restaurant and bar instead.”

Chanyeol’s deep chuckle made him wondering what it was that he said which could trigger such response. “Oh, I expect so when Sehun complained about your caffeine intakes. I think I can relate, Luhan does the same. Especially after I bought a new coffee machine last year. I start to wonder if it’s one of the perks dating a doctor” the man gave a teasing tone to the last sentence and Baekhyun couldn’t help not to laugh at the insinuation.

“Really, Sehun could give me a long lecture about my unhealthy life style while holding a cup of _ramyeon_ in his hand.”

“Oh! Oh!” Chanyeol raised his finger at him, “Luhan did that with a super big sized bubble tea. How in the world is my coffee more dangerous than his sugary tooth? I think we should let them live within one roof and arguing like some kind of wizardry war, but instead of mantra, they use medical terms, like… _Diabetes Mellitus! Monosodium glutamate!_ ” Baekhyun totally lost it when the other impersonated a Harry Potter spell’s pitch to his voice. He was indeed an amusing man, compared to Sehun’s pathetic humor, this one wasn’t so bad.

“Yeah, maybe we should” he jokingly approved. Then after his laugh receded to a small smile, he asked, “what’s your favorite coffee?”

“Hmm...” he seemed to give it a thought. And the coy smile reappeared on the handsome face, “I like Starbucks’ Iced Americano” At the given answer, Baekhyun merely blinked for several seconds before cracking up out loud meanwhile Chanyeol displayed a self-conscious grin, scratching his nape in shy manner. “You must be expecting me to say Kopi Luwak coffee or Hawaiian Kona coffee, right?”

“Yes, I did! But that’s not it” Baekhyun said in between his laugh as if it was the funniest joke. He didn’t miss the quick changes on Chanyeol’s expression from embarrassed to curious in a matter of seconds. That signature beagle puppy look made a presence once again. Definitely a very huge puppy. “It’s time for people to acknowledge the best thing about Starbucks’ Iced Americano. Because I think so too”

It was almost comical how those large eyes widened in both amazement and interest, “really? You?”

The smaller male’s eyebrow shot up at him, pretending to be insulted, “what? Is it your turn now to judge me?”

Chanyeol went alarmed at this, swiftly waving his hand to refute, “No! I don’t mean it like that. Because for me, my taste buds just used to Starbucks rather than those expensive beans. They’re great, but you’re asking for the favorite ones, not the best.” He ended with a glance at him before pushing up the lever on the turn signal.

“Exactly. Besides, why bother looking for the best when it’s convenient?” Baekhyun turned his head to the driver seat, looking at the other male who nodded as he turned the car completely still.

“That’s right.” Then looked back at him with a small smile, “we’re here. Let’s go.” The lawyer was ready to get off when Baekhyun remained motionless, until Chanyeol shut close the door did he rethought about those words he had just said. _Why bother looking for the best when it’s convenient?_ Why? His mind didn’t have a chance to go too far the moment the door to his side abruptly wide open. “Should we go in now?” Chanyeol asked when he didn’t move an inch right away.

“Oh, yeah” he unfastened the seatbelt, a little flustered to get caught spacing out. Together they treaded toward the glass door. The gold lettering perched on the stark white wall next to it arranged the single word in a simple font. _Park_.

When Chanyeol held the door for him, the man manned behind the cashier counter looked up to greet the new customers. “Welcome to- Oh, Chanyeol- _ah!_ ” He beamed at the tall man. Apparently, the other four staffs present around the counter who seemed to notice the boisterous calling turned their attention away from their own business to each greet them. Chanyeol and Baekhyun returned the greetings as the former led him to the approaching young man. He got a nice smile, and if Baekhyun might to guess, he probably around the same age as him and Chanyeol, if not younger. The man also didn’t dress in the same uniform as the staffs, which could mean something about his position in the café.

“Where’s _noona_?” Chanyeol asked, head turning around trying to spot the lady in the question.

“She just left not too long before you came. Seri got a little too cranky today. So, I’ll be here until her friend comes to pick up the dress” Explained he.

After hearing the confirmation, the lawyer stopped his searching to focus back to the man. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the office?” Chanyeol questioned again.

“The office is pretty slow these days, I just finished early.” The man replied then turning at Baekhyun, offering a friendly smile at him, there were little curl on each corner of his lips when he did, and the latter couldn’t think of anything else but a _Pikachu_. Ugh, Byun Baekhyun and his childish imagination. “Hello, I’m Kim Jongdae.”

Baekhyun welcomed the introduction with a slight nod, “Hi, I’m Byun Baekhyun. Nice to meet you” he smiled back.

“Ah, I’m sorry. Baekhyun- _ssi_ , Jongdae is my colleague in the firm. And unfortunately, my sister married him. So…“ Suddenly a slap on Chanyeol’s ass startled Baekhyun along with the surprised shriek from the former.

“Hey! Is that how you treat your brother-in-law?” the man whose name Jongdae put a hand on his hip as he glared at his supposed in-law slash coworker.

Chanyeol winced from the impact of the hit, still brushing his abused butt. The tall guy whimpered a little, Baekhyun wouldn’t be surprised if it was that hurt since the loud smack garnered quite attention from half of the people nearby. “Damn, is that necessary?” Chanyeol glowered back at Jongdae, lowering his voice at the curse word yet Baekhyun still caught it.

“Yes, because you deserved it”

Baekhyun didn’t know whether to laugh or pity Chanyeol, the latter sneaked a brief glance at him only to diverted his eyes back somewhere when their gaze accidentally met. Chanyeol’s ears pinked a little as he kept cussing lowly and rubbing the whack spot. Baekhyun bit his cheeks to prevent himself from cracking up out loud.

“Ah, anyway. The tables are full. But you can use Yoora’s office upstairs. I’ll ask Sakura to clean it up.” Jongdae threw one last smile at him, and a snicker to Chanyeol who kept confronting with a murderous glare before walked away to talk to a short-haired waitress.

“Would you like to look around?” Chanyeol asked after finally getting over his sulky phase which Baekhyun had no problem allowed.

The other led him to a corner leading to a bigger space. The cafe adopted a crisp Nordic-themed style and minimalist touch to both the architecture and interior. Nevertheless, which made it had its own charm would be without a doubt the makeshift garden in the center of the room, surrounded by glass walls in the open air. A lone bark of tree occupied the space. Despite having no leaves and flowers, Baekhyun could imagine how beautiful it would be by the time spring came. A snow fountain weeping cherry tree. The string lights around it and glowing deers scattered under the branches were prolly what remained from the Christmas ornaments. He unconsciously stood only a foot away from the glass surface when Chanyeol stepped right next to him, observing the uniqueness only this place possessed. “I suppose this is your idea?”

Chanyeol beamed at the tree, “you can say that. My sister wanted to paved down the whole space, then I called her at 2am when the inspiration came.” Reminiscing at the memory, he chuckled. “She was pretty upset, but look, it’s worth it” his hand gestured to the small garden. They both laughed and Baekhyun silently agreed. It was indeed worth. And to confirm his impression of Chanyeol, the man was impulsive and impatient, in this case, which was a good trait.

“I guess if we were to work together then I have to prepare myself for these calls” Baekhyun joked, he didn’t know why it came so easy for him to jest at Chanyeol when they barely knew each other. Was it because of the fact that Chanyeol the funny guy or that they were in the same age? And he guessed it was safe to say that Chanyeol seemed to be more at ease to his jokes too now.

“Exactly” the lawyer grinned ear to ear.

“Excuse me” a soft female’s voice interrupted. The two of them turned to find the Sakura girl from earlier stood not too far behind them, she got kind face and friendly smile. “The room’s ready to use” she informed.

Chanyeol gave a single nod then thanked her before she left. The man guided his guest to the stairs, moving aside a ‘staff only’ sign attached to a small pole as they passed. He stared at Chanyeol’s back as the ascending journey took him longer to be distracted at how tall the latter was, even taller than Sehun, and how broad his shoulders were. He always wanted those features in himself. He could if he wanted to, of course with lots of work under the knife, it must be practical if he could just bear with good genes. And that deep baritone voice-

“Do you want to drink something?” He nearly bumped into Chanyeol’s chest when the other suddenly turned around to face him.

Fortunately, he halted just in time before embarrassing himself, “I’m fine, thanks” replied Baekhyun a little too rushed. He might get immensely deep in his own envy of the tall guy to barely notice the mannequins lined against the floor-to-ceiling window while some other littered here and there in the room. They mostly dressed in various kind of beautiful white gowns, and few of suits. “Your sister’s a designer?” He turned to Chanyeol who headed toward the couch.

“Yeah, she makes wedding dress and tux.” Chanyeol claimed the armchair while Baekhyun sat on the chesterfield, eyes still preoccupied to admire each masterpiece made by the former’s sister. To say she must be super talented would be an understatement, he didn’t need to inspect the certificates framed behind the desk to confirm it all. The mannequins alone were enough of a proof. Then his eyes scanned the room once again until they fell on a sketch book on top the coffee table. He had to look twice to make sure, “ _Blanc et Noir?_ ”

“That’s the name” the other affirmed. Of course, Baekhyun wouldn’t forget the label. Jieun, his cousin, sulked all day just because his sister-in-law kept boasting about how precious her wedding dress was and Jieun accidentally stepped on it during the photo session made a rift of the relationship between the two. _Blanc et Noir_ never missed Jieun’s sarcastic mouth every time the topic about their sister-in-law came up, and he guessed it never would stop anytime near despite her absolute fondness of her twin kids. Thanks to them, if it wasn’t for the beef, he might never know what a great influence was _Blanc et Noir_ in wedding fashion industry, next to his family affair.

“My sister-in-law wore the dress on her wedding with my brother” eventually he chose to tell him.

This seemed to perked his interest, “Oh, really?”

Baekhyun bowed his head once, “and she’s really proud of it”

For the nth times that day, a small cackle left Chanyeol’s lips, he seemed to do that a lot, and Baekhyun wasn’t complaining. “Well, thank you. She’s really passionate at what she’s doing. I’m glad people can appreciate her hard work.” And that was what Baekhyun did when his eyes wandered once again to the sketches strewn all over the table. A white three pieces on the center pile called for his attention. Before he realized, his hand reached for the drawing of white tuxedo combined by black trousers. His eyes took all the details in, nothing too extraordinary about it, only a set of simple wedding suit sketch. But he couldn’t help not to imagine himself in it, in front of the altar, reciting the vows and exchanging _‘I do’_ s to the man he loved.

“Do you like it?” The question came like a needle popping his bubble. He saw Chanyeol stared at the paper in between his fingers.

“I do, it’s beautiful.” Baekhyun sent a smile in Chanyeol’s way, then back to adore the long slender figure in charcoal scratches.

“I can ask her to make it for you and Sehun” the other’s casual comment had Baekhyun looked away to stare at the lawyer. Yet he didn’t find the playfulness in the latter’s face, so he was serious about it? It was almost impossible if his sister didn’t have tons of commission sat on her waiting list.

As though sensing his internal concern, Chanyeol added, “don’t worry, she has been keeping orders less than usual since several months back before her due date. It’ll be no problem to take another two suits apart from me and Luhan”

There was nothing to stop him from saying yes right away but his ego. “That would be very great. I’ll make sure to talk with Sehun about it. Can you give us time?” Lie. No discussion needed. To hell with Sehun’s opinion. If Baekhyun wanted them to wear tutu on their wedding day, so be it.

Yet all that matter was Chanyeol didn’t need to know that as he gave an understanding smile, “of course” then he fumbled with his clutch bag to draw a tablet. “Alright Baekhyun- _ssi_ , can you tell me what concept you already had in mind? Or did you-“

A ring came from Baekhyun’s pocket cut off his words mid-sentence. “Sorry” he apologized whilst fishing out the phone to see Sehun’s name on the screen. _What now._ He almost rolled his eyes if he wasn’t aware of the other’s presence. Baekhyun excused himself, after getting the permission to do so, he distanced himself pretty far to be out of earshot yet close enough not to wander from the man who immediately engrossed with the iPad on his hands.

Before he could answer, Sehun beat it to him. “Baek, where are you?”

“Cheongdam. What do you want?” Baekhyun replied curtly.

“ _Kimchi_ fried rice”

Finally, he got to roll his eyes freely, “can’t you just order a goddamn delivery?” He hissed to the receiver.

There was some pause with Mario Kart’s soundtrack filled in distant, “no, I’m craving for yours. Hurry come back- Oh hell! Motherfucker!” And then a boom. “I’ll kill you little shit!”

Baekhyun took a long breath before exhaling slowly. Another disastrous night with a famished Sehun crashed into his place, the thought put an impending throb on his temples. He growled, “do it yourself” and hit the red button harshly to disconnect the call.

Chanyeol looked up from his gadget to see him approaching back. The smaller male cursed himself internally as he mustered a pleading look and contrite smile. “Chanyeol- _ssi_ , I’m really sorry but I have to go now. Can we reschedule this to another time?”

This wing had always been a jumbled mess of noises. High-pitched cries, _Baby Shark_ jingles, squeaking toys, all mishmashed into one in the west ward. Yet Sehun didn’t seem to be disturbed at all with the hustle and bustle as he strode in the hallway, occasionally dodged his way lest bumping into the kids or throwing smiles and nods to the greetings the nurses and doctors milled about. As he reached the corner, he went for the farthest room in the corridor. Sehun knocked next to the number 1004 pinned on the door before sliding it open. He was greeted by a sight of beaming little girl on the hospital bed.

“Daddy!” The girl quickly chucked her snowman plush and the tablet on her hands, arms stretched out ready to welcome him with a hug.

Sehun chuckled as he marched to the bed, engulfing the girl in his arms. “How are you, baby?” He asked in tender voice after releasing the child to sit near her legs.

“I’m good, daddy! Look! I have Anna’s hairs now! Isn’t it pretty?” It was the wig he gifted for the girl yesterday, he was worried when his baby looked so down finding bunch of her hairs on the pillow every passing day. The doctor was glad to see his sunshine was back in bright.

“My Naeun has always been pretty” his fingers brushed the bangs to prevent the brunette tendrils picking her sparkly eyes. The false hairs looked unruly. Some strands even fell out from the braids which he assumed she wore it to sleep last night. “But your hair needs to be fixed, princess. Let daddy help you with that” Sehun stood up to take his seat behind Naeun and began to pull the hair ties to rearrange the braids.

Meanwhile the sweet child reclaimed the iPad and her doll, “Me and Olaf are just watching Elsa’s song, daddy.”

Sehun peered over her shoulder to see _Let It Go_ played on the screen. “Oh? Have you shown Elsa your new hair?”

Naeun shook her head, “no, Elsa didn’t come yesterday” Sehun didn’t need to see to know the girl pouted.

“Why is that so? Did something happen in Arendelle?” He feigned a surprised gasp whilst tying up half side of the plaited hairs before moving on the rest.

The petite girl shrugged, “I don’t know, I haven’t talked to Elsa. Olaf told me Elsa will come today, right Olaf?” She turned to smiling Olaf in her arm. He then glanced to the Elsa doll perched on the couch along with her _Frozen_ friends remained neglected for quite some time now. The ‘Elsa’ title had been snatched from it since Naeun had been growing her imaginary friends’ phase lately, and it seemed to make her more expressive and cheerful so Sehun couldn’t complain.

“Well, baby, why don’t you try to ask Elsa to come now?” Sehun suggested, hands combing the knotted strands.

Naeun harrumphed in respond, folding her arms while she did so. “I asked nurse Kim, but she said Elsa is busy and- Oh!” Suddenly her hunched posture straightened, “I know! Maybe we can do the siren’s calling! Like this!” And she sang the signature melodious four notes. Sehun smiled at his baby’s singing, he knew Naeun had the potential to become a singer or maybe a girl band member, and Sehun was ready to provide everything she needed to show what his baby girl had to the world. Hell, Sehun might be that overprotective dad mode towards her future fans. He internally snickered at the thought. “Daddy, we should do it together!”

Her suggestion calmly declined by her father, “no, sweetheart, I can’t sing.” His hands still preoccupied with the braiding when Naeun tried to turn around to protest.

“Why not? You can talk so you can sing, daddy!”

“Daddy’s voice isn’t as beautiful as Naeun’s. Maybe Elsa will come if you sing it a few times?” As the braids were done, the little babe impatiently moved her body around to face Sehun.

“No!!! Daddy’s voice is handsome! Come on, daddy! Come on!” Sehun couldn’t help his laughter when Naeun nagged adorably whilst tugging on his hand.

“Alright, alright. Such a princess you are, do you know that?” He pinched his baby’s nose teasingly as she giggled.

Naeun was grinning ear to ear, anticipating her first time witnessing her daddy’s singing performance. Sehun eyed the door, suddenly feeling self-conscious if someone would barge in uninvited during his private show. To be honest, even as former band member, Sehun had never been putting much confidence over his singing skill, at least backing vocal was enough, rapping was better. And now after decades without ever singing before any living soul, he made an exception to Naeun, and God forbid him to disappoint her. He took a deep breath before belting out the same tunes. Naeun smiled even wider, it came out not so bad apparently, and he felt proud not to mess this one up.

Suddenly, a distinctive four knocks broke their short-lived silence. The child’s whole demeanor brightened. Their attention diverted to the door as it pulled aside, “do you want to build-“

And there stood froze to the ground, a light-haired male draped in a sparkly blue tulle cape with white fur adorned the collar over his doctor coat. Sehun went agape at the sight until the girl squealed whilst jumping on her bum. “Elsa!” She called out.

_So, all this time Elsa is... Luhan?_

The pediatrician swiftly gathered his wits back from the shock to pull off the cape, “uh, I... I’m sorry. I wasn’t informed Naeun has a visitor. I can come back next time” he bowed his head down, ready to turn around and left before Sehun’s voice stopped him.

“No, it’s okay. Come on in” Sehun could feel the hesitation in the other’s stiff posture before eventually stepping his feet into the room, followed by a nurse. He stood up to help Naeun lied on the bed, then sat on the chair next to it as Luhan proceeded to stand on the other side. He watched the doctor exchanged the cape for a clipboard with the nurse who pressed her lips into a tight line, holding back her laughter. His eyes glanced to Luhan’s flushed face seconds before it shielded completely behind the board. Sehun’s lips quirked up slightly. It was an amusing sight to behold.

After one full minute perused through the papers, the blonde doctor returned the file to his assistant. The redness on his face receded a little by now. “Wow” Luhan whispered in awe, “I love your new hair, Anna”

The lithe babe’s smile never left her face in Luhan’s presence as she replied, “thank you, Elsa! Daddy gifted it to me yesterday!” Her eyes glanced at Sehun for a brief moment before focusing back to the blonde.

If there was a look of surprise on Luhan’s face, he masked it well, but Sehun caught his dilated eyes for a split second and said nothing of it. Instead, the pediatrician said, “that’s very lovely, Nana” The use of endearment piqued the surgeon’s interest. It was a pet name created between the two of them, and knowing Naeun trusted Luhan to use it rather than her own grandmother made him wondered what kind of heroic act he did to gain her trust in a short amount of time. He watched the interaction between the two as Luhan did his duty with the stethoscope roamed around her torso whilst keeping the baby girl entertained with the talk around Arandelle and Nokk he told he was riding to get here. Sehun didn’t even know Nokk, the water horse, had a name.

“Don’t forget to eat your veggies, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow then” Luhan caressed the baby’s head but the latter wasn’t amused.

“Why? But you always play with me” Naeun pouted, glancing at Sehun for support.

The surgeon knew for sure that he was the reason for Luhan’s short visit. And he wouldn’t want to take that away from his baby. “I think if you have time, Naeun will be very happy to spend it some more with you” Sehun offered.

The pediatrician seemed to weigh his option as he merely blinked his doe eyes at the father-daughter duo before nodding, which earned a merry squeal from the babe. Luhan exchanged some words with the nurse whilst his little patient eagerly reached for the plastic tea set on the nearby table with Sehun’s help. After the lady dismissed and left the three in the room, the blonde pulled a chair to sit across from Sehun on the other side of the bed. Naeun busied herself arranging the tea party on the sheet, contemplating to throw the snowman doll to the couch before thinking better of it, “daddy, you’re Olaf” and the doll ended up on the father’s laps.

The latter yielded without protest, at least he could say something this time, unlike his previous designated character, Naeun would chide him every time he opened his mouth, just because Sven, the reindeer, wasn’t supposed to talk. “Okay then,” Sehun put his fingers around the plushie’s branch arms as he waved one around, “hi! My name is Olaf! and I love summer!” his comical voice brought out a chuckle, not from the babe, but the blonde doctor who smiled amusedly at him.

“Hello, Olaf! Would you like some sugar on your tea?” he saw Naeun brought up a pink cup and saucer, ready to spoon the imaginary sugar into it.

Sehun showcased a smile, “I’d love that”

The tea party turned out to be filled with lots of laughter since Sehun accidentally ‘spilled’ the tea. He hadn’t seen Naeun laughed this much since her mother passed away in accident months ago, leaving her alone with her grandma. Kim Yejin was a lovely girl, and with Yeonseok, they used to be high school sweetheart. She never missed the Christmas and thanksgiving in Oh’s household. Despite being only a primary schooler back then, Yejin always spent some time to play with him and brought him abundance of gifts during her visit. Not only Sehun, the whole Oh’s family seemed to be fond of her. Even after Yeonseok studied abroad to achieve his medical degree and ended their relationship in a good term, she still came around to have some tea in the garden with his mother, helping with dinners, or beat his ass in cardboard games. Yejin was like a sister and daughter figure the family could never have. So, when her visit came to a stop, the Oh’s tried to reach for her only to find she eloped with some guy the family didn’t approve of, which was Naeun’s father.

Years passed by until he found her on the doorstep, holding unconscious Naeun in her arms, begging him to help her leukemic daughter. And now that Naeun orphaned with a single grandmother to take care of her, Sehun welcomed the idea of filling the parent’s role Naeun needed. These past months had been hard for her, and to see her bubbly side after months full of sorrow and grief was refreshing.

“Elsa and Anna are finally together again, and they live happily ever after” Sehun closed the story book to realize Naeun had fallen asleep soundly with Luhan's doting gaze on her whilst caressing her short hair. The wig was long discarded on the table when it started to give her itches, despite the refusal on her part to take it off, the pediatrician must be the one who did it after she slept.

The blonde seemed unaware of his eyes witnessing the tender gesture toward the child when suddenly the door opened to reveal a panting old lady rushed into the room. “Doctor Oh, Doctor Lu, I’m sorry for coming late. The restaurant had been hectic and the owner didn’t let me go home early. I’m really sorry to burden you like this” she apologized and bowed repeatedly that Sehun needed to reach for her fragile shoulder to stop her. “It’s okay, Mrs. Yoon. Naeun has been a good girl all day, she’s barely a burden” He threw a polite smile at her.

Look of relief washed over her face, “I don’t know how to thank you enough. I’m very grateful to you both” her eyes were bright with unshed tears as she eyed the doctors respectively. Sehun’s eyes softened at the old lady. Living and supporting her ill granddaughter alone despite her late years must be hard on her. The surgeon used to insist her to stop working and let him aid them with financial support, which she refused greatly. If Sehun knew anyone worked harder than his brother, it would be Mrs. Yoon.

“Please, don’t mention it.” Sehun brought her hands together and patted them gently. He glanced to the clock, it almost past 9pm. “I guess, we’ll be taking our leave. You should probably rest too” the smile never left Sehun’s face to the amazing woman before him.

Luhan finally joined to stand beside him, smiling down at the grandmother. “You’ve worked hard, Mrs. Yoon. Naeun must be really proud”

Her eyes shone with gratefulness toward the two young doctors. Before they bade her good night, she halted them, “please wait a second,” then proceeded to fumble inside her canvas bag to pull out two plastic bags to each their hands, “please take this, it’s not much. But I picked only the best”

Sehun peeked into the bag to see red apples inside, “thank you, Mrs. Yoon. It’s more than enough” Luhan also showed his gratitude as he bowed to receive the small gift. “We’re leaving now, please take a good rest. Good night” the two of them eventually bade their good night before stepping out the room.

The hallway looked deserted now that it past the operating hours. The only sound filled the silence would probably be Sehun’s dress shoes as they clanked against the linoleum flooring meanwhile the pediatrician wore the rubber Crocs with adorable _jibbitz_ adorned the vamps.

“You look close with Naeun” Sehun was the first to break the silence.

Luhan looked surprised to hear him initiated the conversation, almost like it caught him off guard. But the answer was far from it. “I guess I just happened to know how to handle certain child, and I think Naeun is one of them. It’s not easy at first, after all what she had been through, but slowly she managed to warm up to me” the pediatrician replied, the corner of his lips quirked up slightly.

It was true. Naeun had been through so much for what a girl her age could handle. Her mother’s accident, a cancer she had to fight, moreover, doctor Shin Min Ah, her previous doctor’s departure from Hanyul quite disturbed her since she had been attached to the oncologist since day one. And it must be hard for Luhan too to get her opening up to him. So, to see Naeun’s smile and laugh these days was very heart warming, a total proof that Luhan had been doing a great job. Yet Sehun couldn’t even imagine though if anyone didn’t fall for Luhan’s charm. He was a likable person, a pediatrician seemed to suit him well.

“Uh... and please forgive me for being clueless. I didn’t know you’re Naeun’s father” Luhan looked flustered as he said it. The tips of his ears pinked in between the blonde strands, no one would notice such a little detail, but Sehun, being observant as he usually was, didn’t miss that.

“Actually, legally I’m not. But I’m planning to adopt her as soon as she discharged from the hospital. Yejin _noona_ was like a family to us, so taking Naeun under our care seems like the right thing to do” the thought put a smile on his face. It wouldn’t be long until Naeun became his lawful daughter with her health slowly getting better.

His smile waned when he turned to Luhan who slowed down his step to a stop a few feet behind him. A frown marred his young face, the pediatrician seemed to be conflicted as his lips opened then closed in hesitation. He was about to ask when the next second all he saw was resolution in his eyes, “can we talk for a moment?”

_“Her body starts to reject the chemo.”_

Everything went in a blur. He didn’t know where he was if anyone asked. It all seemed like an autopilot. Physically he was there, in his sleek sedan accelerating almost past 80 kms per hour, but mentally, Luhan’s words the day before kept haunting him all day.

_“But you don’t have to worry, this is the first time it happened, so we’ll just try another that works for her. I was going to tell Mrs. Yoon earlier, yet seeing it’s not the right time then I’ll have to talk to her tomorrow. And now, knowing that you’re responsible for Naeun, I think I have to let you know too. Just in case”_

_Just in case._

The last words made him grasped on the wheel tight. How he hated that possibility and how it put him on edge easily.

_“Doctor Oh, Ms. Yoon just passed away this evening”_

And how Sehun dashed to the children ward with the landline hanging on his desk, ignoring the questioning look from the passerby as he kept running until the door slid open to see the old lady pulled the blanket up to the little girl’s shoulders. No traces of tears or sadness on her aging facade, but confusion. _“Is there anything wrong?”_

Sehun could feel beads of sweat ran down his spine, and some dotted on his temples. Then turned to the pale babe on the bed, sleeping and very much breathing. Not long after, a disheveled nurse appeared in the doorway, panting and apologetic. And how her explanation frustrated him yet relieving at the same time.

He ended up apologizing to the old lady for making such a ruckus which she waved off easily as she assured him nothing happened to Naeun except that she just worn out since Doctor Lu spent the entire afternoon played with her. And it was nothing more than a misinformation on his part. With the surgery cancelled, Sehun decided it was best if he should go home and took some rest to put his mind on ease. Which right now he doubted if he could at all.

He stepped on the brake as the light turned red, and took the chance to lean his forehead down against his folded arms on the wheel. He had been worrying too much. About... everything and concealed them all very well too. And suddenly, for the first time in his life, Sehun felt... lonely. Lonelier than he ever be.

Even with the cars honked behind him couldn’t erase the feeling that he wasn’t alone. He made no movement for quite a while to the point the honking became long and angry and he couldn’t care less. Once he made up his mind, he floored the pedal for a U turn and sped off to the direction far from home.

A beep signaled from the hallway amongst the boisterous noise blared from the speaker. His eyes never left the screen, even though now the home owner glared at him with folded arms and tapping foot. “Welcome home” he mumbled with a slice of pizza hung in between his teeth.

“What is this? I thought His Royal Highness wants to eat my delicious cooking?” Baekhyun motioned to the pizza box and beer cans on the coffee table.

 _Oh no,_ one more lap until he reached the finish line, and now that damned Luigi had to throw a freaking bomb his way! “I thought…“ and he kept mumbling unintelligible blabber before the smaller yanked the pizza away and slammed it down to the box. Sehun flinched, eventually acknowledging the imaginary fumes came out from his beau’s flaring nostrils.

“Talk.”

He sighed, a long deep breath. Then reached for the remote to turn off the TV, leaving them in silence. “The surgery cancelled.” He reasoned, but Baekhyun only raised his eyebrow at him, clearly expecting for more when a minute went without words. Sehun only pressed his lips, elbows resting on his knees, “yesterday I was told Naeun’s body started to reject the chemo. And today, I almost lost my mind when they told me they called off the surgery. It didn’t help that her name is Yoon Naeun.” Baekhyun’s face softened as Sehun diverted his gaze somewhere. He had always been wearing his heart on his sleeve, especially with Baekhyun. But these days, he didn’t know why he felt the need to try to conceal a little bit of himself.

His petite lover took steps closer to him and plopped down next to him, arms and thighs touching. “Hey,” this was another side of Byun Baekhyun which only a couple of people could see. And Sehun felt glad he was one of them. Baekhyun could be very gentle and comforting if he wished, just the way Sehun needed right now. “She’s a strong girl, and you know that. She’ll fight for you. I’m sure of that” his smaller hand reached for his bigger one, lacing them together in a perfect fit.

“Yeah, I know. I’m just... scared” Sehun almost whispered the last word. He wasn’t scared, he was, in fact, terrified. He just realized Naeun brought out something in him that he didn’t think he had and needed before, to become a father figure. Being a father somehow filled that empty gap in him, as though he was meant to be one. Finally discovering his newfound happiness, Sehun wasn’t ready to accept the possibilities of Naeun’s illness took that away from him. And Baekhyun seemed to understand how much it meant for Sehun, his plans, all of it.

“I didn’t know the mighty Oh Sehun could be scared” there was a hint of smirk in his voice, and this brought a small smile upon his lips. “You’re just being a paranoid dad, Sehun. I can’t imagine what would happen to those poor kids who wants to date her, they might pee in their pants with your ‘hurt my girl, and I’ll break your neck’ attitude” this time Sehun chuckled softly. Yeah, maybe Baekhyun was right, and he never wrong when he decided to seek him out during bad days. The petite male always had that quirk to comfort people in his own way. “Come on, you have to take the honor to eat my majestic _Kimchi_ fried rice now that you’ve summoned the genie in the bottle!” Baekhyun stood up and pulled his hand along to drag him across the room to the kitchen. Then pushing his shoulders down to sit him on the stool before marching to the other side of the island while pulling up his sleeve as he scanned the refrigerator for the ingredients.

Sehun noticed the shirt crumpled at the front, his sleeves too, which could mean one thing, “you clocked out early?”

Baekhyun turned around with vegetables and plastic containers in his arms, one foot closed the refrigerator as he made his way towards the sink next to Sehun. “Yeah, I’ve told you I’ll work on Delight. Also,” he sighed before completing his sentences, “I decided I need Chanyeol’s help”

Realizing the reason behind his deep sigh, Sehun only nodded whilst forming an O with his mouth, suppressing the urge to smile. “So, you finally agreed to work with your ideal man. I’m feeling a bit insecure here”

Baekhyun sent him a glare, chopping the poor garlic viciously to prove a point, “watch out your mouth, Oh Sehun. You don’t know what you’re dealing right now”

Sehun threw his head back in hearty laugh. “Alright, alright. But seriously, he’s great. You’ll get a big help from him” the doctor opened the container lid and picked a piece of cabbage from the _kimchi_ with bare hand which getting a loud slap from his lover, “ow!” It burnt like hell.

After sending another warning look at Sehun, the COO returned with his cooking duty while shrugging nonchalantly, “not bad. He invited me to his sister’s restaurant, I must say the mini park concept is quite brilliant” Sehun nodded in agreement.

“Oh, anyway, talking about Chanyeol, I just found out that his fiancée is doctor Shin’s substitute”

Baekhyun’s eyebrow quirked at him, “Luhan?”

Sehun only hummed to confirm, still eyeing the _kimchi_ , he might look like a starving wet puppy right now. Baekhyun titled his head, “I’m not surprised. He got that child-friendly look on him after all”

Sehun silently agreed for the second time. _And pleasant to see,_ he might add, but that was irrelevant. He only saw him three times, twice at the children ward, once around the psychiatric wing, but still, his face was quite eye-catching. Or maybe it was just Sehun. To put it simply, if he were to meet Luhan in his early twenties, that guy might wake up on his bed a week after they gave each other’s name. Fortunately, they didn’t. He seemed like a good person, compassionate and more importantly, Naeun liked him.

“Stop ogling at my _kimchi_ like that.” His lips were met with the cold cabbage Baekhyun thrust at him. Sehun gladly ate it without complaint.

“Like what?” He rose his eyebrow.

“Like you want to fuck it” _what the hell._

Ever since that night Luhan broke the news, Sehun never missed the chance to visit the little girl no matter how late his shift ended, seeing the girl slept safe and sound just all it took to ease a little bit of anxiety inside him. And so, when he saw Naeun sat on Luhan’s laps the next day, he wasn’t surprised. Or the next day after, and more days after that.

After spending the majority of the week with the pediatrician, and the latter finally got over his awkward phase around the surgeon, he must admit Luhan was a very intriguing person. He was smart, —obviously—likable, —that too, obviously— and hard to guess, which was the main reason of why he has a fascinating persona. Sehun thought he might like jazz concert, yet he chose to go to Manchester to watch his favorite football club instead. Sehun thought he might like white, but no, he preferred yellow and purple when Naeun asked which color should she drawn for his clothes. A riddle which piqued Sehun’s interest. Slowly, he began to understand how Naeun easily warmed up to his company.

It was Saturday when they once again walked down the empty corridor together. It almost felt like a routine, short journey to the parking lot filled with light conversation. Luhan bashfully told him he wanted to be a K-pop singer once upon a time and he wondered what the pediatrician’s voice would sound like when he actually sang. And Sehun told him he was a drummer in high school, but he could play guitar and keyboard too, so a collaboration with him would be possible which rewarded a melodious chuckle from Luhan.

“Ah, doctor Oh, I’m sorry I can’t walk with you to the parking lot today, I’ll take taxi instead” Luhan pointed at lobby entrance with his thumb.

“Oh, you need to go somewhere?” Sehun swept his eyes to the glass door, checking if there were taxis available at this hour.

“Umm, no, I’ll go straight home. My car’s still at the repair shop. Some drunk high schooler crashed into my car last night” Luhan explained with a snicker.

“Are you okay?” Sehun couldn’t help but asked.

The other’s head bounced, “yeah, I’m good. Only a few bruises, other than that I’m good” again, he smiled. So that was why he winced when Naeun climbed to his laps.

“I’ll drive you home”

This got those doe-like eyes dilated bigger than they already were. “No! I’m sorry, I mean, thank you, but you don’t have to. I’m fine on my own. Thank you so much” Luhan bowed his head a little. He wondered why Luhan still acted way too formal with him even though the pediatrician knew Sehun was younger than him.

“I insist” Sehun declared, turning the Chinese doctor into an unnecessary panic.

“I really appreciate your kindness, doctor Oh, but I-“

“I know it’s past your working hour. And no one told you to stay late for my daughter. I should be the one who responsible for what happened to you. And I’m truly sorry. So, let me repay your kindness, doctor Lu. May I?” The surgeon knew he won the argument when the other only gaped at him.

 _Checkmate._ And Sehun smiled.

Luhan lived not far from his own apartment complex. And it seemed like such a fact eased the blonde’s worry a bit. Sehun found out that Chanyeol’s Eric Clapton guitar was sold in an auction for Luhan’s children cancer fund raising campaign. Knowing how much his senior used to love that guitar said something about how Luhan meant that much to Chanyeol.

“I love children!” Luhan said in pure enthusiast. However, the poor lighting in the car didn’t conceal how his eyes seemed to sparkle. Yeah, Sehun definitely didn’t doubt that. “But that’s not the main reason. My cousin died of cancer when he was five. And we were so close” from the corner of his eyes, he sensed the happiness gleam dimmed a little, although the smile was still there, thin and sad. Sehun knew how it felt like to lose someone in a young age. Being a doctor meant dealing with people’s life and death, no matter how many times he did it, it never been easier for him to deliver death news. His grandfather’s death left a deep trauma to his younger self. And he didn’t think it got any better now either. He still remembered how hoarse his voice back then the first time he tried to talk after months refusing to.

“I’m sure he knows” Sehun threw a sympathetic smile at the blonde, and the latter returned the sentiment with a thank you before a comfortable silence surrounded the atmosphere. Each occupied with their own mind, as for Sehun, he was still trying to put a name to those big eyes and shy smiles. He must’ve seen them somewhere, or to be precisely someone which he tried so hard to figure in these past days. They were all so familiar. Or maybe it was Deja vu did their thing. Yeah, perhaps so.

Rather than trying to remember something he couldn’t, he should better remind himself to call for the ice cream truck vendor for his visit to the orphanage tomorrow. He promised them, and he hated to disappoint the kids. He could imagine how upset Hansol would be if-

“Hansol”

The blonde doctor looked away from the window to look at him. “Pardon?”

Sehun’s smile widened now that he finally solved the mystery. “Sorry, it’s just that you remind me of Hansol. There’s an orphanage I’ve been visiting, and he’s one of the children. I just realized you two are very similar”

Luhan seemed purely interested by this as he asked, “how’s that so?”

“Your face and the way you act, I mean you’re giving off the same vibrant vibes as he does” Sehun flipped the turning signal at the intersection to the opposite road of his apartment complex. They were only five minutes’ drive away from each other apparently.

“Please tell me about him” the sparkle on his eyes were back, glinting off by the street lights.

“Well... He’s only four. Always giving his favorite teddy bear to anyone who looks sad. Hansol’s a fast-learner too, he could talk since he was two.” Sehun reminisced the first time the little baby called him _“appa”_ despite the caregiver kept correcting him to say _“ahjussi”_ which Sehun didn’t mind eventually. It was difficult for a baby’s first word after all.

“He sounds like a very sweet and smart boy” Luhan commented.

“He is” Sehun proudly agreed. He was trying not to play favorite, but he couldn’t when it came to the sweet babe.

“Which orphanage he’s in? I might give him a visit someday” The blonde asked after directing him to his building lobby.

“Oh, you can join me tomorrow if you want” the spontaneous offer was out before he realized. Sehun stepped on the brake slowly until it stopped right before the lobby, then turning his head to look at the pediatrician’s surprised face. It seemed like one of Luhan’s default expression—beside flustering—whenever he was around, and honestly, Sehun quite enjoyed the sight.

Until Luhan got over it quickly, and throwing his usual polite smile, “sure, if you don’t mind”


	5. the thread may stretch or tangle

He should know better than relenting to his ego to accept Johnny’s stupid challenge to play basketball one-on-one under the rain. Although he won the game eventually, it didn’t cease his internal curses at that guy when he woke up with a fever the next morning. Definitely not a right time to be sick after he got a call from the front desk asking whether he was expecting a guest. The lawyer was about to say no when the name came out and he cussed his asshole friend even more within his head. He forgot about the plan he made last week. He was the one who invited the other, and now he was stupidly sick.

Chanyeol opened the door and welcomed with the sight of the usually formal dressed COO in red sweater and jeans smiled at him. “Hi”

Baekhyun’s prim and clean look somehow always made him felt conscious of himself. They had met for more than five times by now and still he couldn’t stop the feeling of being underdressed and improper in his own house. He might even still have some crust on his eyes and unruly bed hair. “Oh, hello. Come in”

Chanyeol stepped aside to let Baekhyun walked into his apartment. Thankfully it looked decent enough, thanks to Luhan for dropping by yesterday. “Did I wake you up?” Baekhyun turned around to look at him.

“Of course not” The taller wished the COO would be stupid enough to buy it which unfortunately Byun Baekhyun was far from stupid to begin with. But the latter didn’t press further as he nodded to accept the white lie and walked into the living room with wandering eyes inspecting the spacious room. Chanyeol had lots of things in his apartment, and it was quite effective to keep newcomers’ busy with their curious eyes. “Please make yourself at home, I need to retrieve my things in the bedroom. I’ll be back in a sec”

“Okay” after getting the reply, Chanyeol disappeared behind the wall of his room. Making sure he washed up his face, taming the cowlicks, then grabbing his gadgets with him to the living room where Baekhyun stood in front of glass cabinets full of figurines. “Where did you get this?”

He looked over to the brunette’s pointing finger. “Which one?” Chanyeol came closer after dropping his things on the couch.

“Boa Hancock”

“From a friend in Japan, it’s a gift” Chanyeol replied, standing next to smaller male as they studied the voluptuous figurine.

The latter folded his arms while nodding in acknowledge, “I see. It’s a limited edition one, isn’t it?”

Chanyeol’s eyebrow rose at that. “Not everyone knows that unless you’re a die-hard fan” the taller commented, slightly amused by the fact. In these past weeks since meeting and working with the young COO, he discovered a lot of things they had in common. From the games they played, dog person, coffee addict, born in the same year, there were so much more that it felt effortless to find a topic to talk with him. And now, he wondered how much more mutual interest they hadn’t found out yet.

Baekhyun only chuckled, “you got me there. I like One Piece. I even cried when Ace died.”

“Don’t even try to joke with that scene” Chanyeol jokingly warned before leaving Baekhyun laughing as he made his way to the mini bar.

“I won’t dare” Baekhyun casually said with a hint of smile, treading back to plop on the couch.

Chanyeol pulled the cupboard to retrieve two porcelain cups, then operating the coffee machine. It was the main reason why they scheduled their meeting here. For a cup of coffee brewed by a thousand-dollars-worth machine. He wasn’t Park Chanyeol if he didn’t have cool things though.

“The Deadpool and Iron Man suit there, you wore those for Halloween?”

Chanyeol threw his eyes over the brunette amidst the soft buzzing sound, “yeah, last year and the year before” he reached for the cup right before the black concoction started to drip, filling the room with a strong fragrant smell.

“I bet the Iron Man needs a lot of effort to use” Baekhyun scratched his hairless chin assessing the costume.

The taller released an embarrassed snicker recalling the past event, “well, yeah, I had to stand for hours and walked maybe a little less than half a mile to the party from where I set it up. It’s cumbersome but Luhan loved it” he certainly remembered how his little lover excitedly ‘showcased’ him around like some kind of trophy, helping others to take picture with him, he almost felt like a mascot in Disney Land. Oh God, the things he did for Luhan.

“How sweet” the smaller commented, more like to himself, eyes still remained on the heavy suit.

After the cups were filled, he brought one to Baekhyun who thanked him and breathing in the calming scent. Chanyeol, always been the impatient man he has, took a sip only to press his lips into tight line afterward, there was this addiction to feel his tongue burned first thing first by the time he put his hands on his steaming coffee. “How about you? What you’ve done for Halloween?”

The young COO flashed him a nervous smile, placing the cup and saucer atop his laps. “Umm... I’ve never dressed-up for Halloween. My dad thinks I shouldn’t do that. And the _mangas_ too, I used to collect them all, and I got reprimanded a lot because of it. So, yeah, I’m quite boring when it comes to have fun” an awkward chuckle followed and Baekhyun quickly concealed it by nursing on the scalding liquid, the wince of course didn’t go unnoticed by Chanyeol. It seemed to the lawyer that Baekhyun was too austere and spruce for people their age. He might dress casually today yet his straight ramrod posture was far from casual. It wouldn’t be a surprise if somehow the guy spent his youth had dinners with presidents and prime ministers instead of partying and get wasted in clubs. Heck, even his nails were perfectly manicured.

“We only live once. You’re the one who live your life. It’s not your job to keep everyone happy but you’re responsible for your own. Do everything which make yourself happy, Baekhyun- _ssi_.” He noticed how those puppy eyes widened, and Chanyeol found himself startled of what he had just said. _What the hell, Park Chanyeol._ He damned his own foolishness to say such a thing. _Who do you think you are to tell him to do your stupid motto?_

It lasted for a few agonizing seconds before Baekhyun’s smile softened, “I think you’re right. Thank you” and Chanyeol bet he looked stupid with his mouth hung open and even stupider when his throat suddenly itched as he coughed hard to his sleeve. “Chanyeol- _ssi_ , are you okay? Should I get you some water?”

He looked at the other’s frown amidst the tears pooled on his eyes, “no, no, I’m fine. No worries” he retrieved his cup and took a good sip to ease his throat. The flu was catching up on him. He should better get this done faster then. Chanyeol got his hands on the tablet sitting not far from him, “alright, Baekhyun- _ssi_ , here’s what I want to show you”

For the next three hours the headache kept pounding on his skull, and the fever began to make him dizzy. He even had to make Baekhyun explained things three times just because he couldn’t seem to focus. Cups were refilled and he hadn’t eaten a bite. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look pale to me” the brunette asked, worry etched on his face. And maybe Chanyeol looked really pathetic right now, apologizing every time he took his time to cough, and sweats dotted on his hairlines due to the increasing body heat.

He closed his eyes whilst massaging his temples to ebb the nauseous feeling bubbled on his stomach. Must be the caffeine. “Yeah... Just give me a second” and he excused himself to go straight for the bathroom in his room. He didn’t make it to the toilet but the sink as the coffee lurched out of his mouth. _God, it feels like a bad hangover._

After emptied his stomach and rinsed his mouth. He almost winced to the reflection at how awful he looked right now. Chanyeol stepped back to lean against the cold wall, then sliding down to sit on the floor. It felt better to cool down for a bit before going back to the room as he felt his eyes got heavier with the passing second, and it went dark.

The moment he opened his eyes he was greeted by the familiar ceiling. Nothing was seemed out of the ordinary until his sense came back to him. The lawyer sat up straight, a piece of damp cloth fell from his forehead. A glass of water and brand-new medicine sat neatly on the night stand. He rose from the bed to the living room. It was empty. God, not another episode of him embarrassing himself. He face-palmed imagining the struggle his guest had to go through. He pulled his phone from his sweatpants and dialed Baekhyun’s number.

A vibrating sound came from the cellphone on the coffee table. Chanyeol strode closer only to find the couch occupied then quickly disconnected the call. There on the couch, Baekhyun was sleeping soundly. Like a baby. The sight made Chanyeol hesitant to wake him up. So he just stood there, watching the brunette slept in peace. It was an understatement that Byun Baekhyun was attractive but to see him unguarded in his sleep was like a whole new side. His skin looked so soft to the point he couldn’t even see his pores. And his lips had their own unique shapes, and a mole near the upper lip. He might look like a creep right now, but it was a sight he couldn’t look away from. And the brunette hairs that never seem to look out of their place now were mussed. Despite being dyed it didn’t look dry but soft like everything else about the man. And it almost called to quench his curiosity what it felt like under his fingertips.

“Chanyeol- _ssi_ , you’re awake?”

The voice broke the spell away, as though bringing him back to reality along with the pounding sound on his ears were gone. He quickly pulled back his freezing hand which he didn’t realize was half-way reaching for the brunette. “Oh yeah, I just woke up and found you’re still here” Chanyeol made sure he didn’t stutter.

Baekhyun sat up, willing away the sleepiness from his eyes, “I’m sorry I fell asleep. I called a friend to check-up on you and he said you should be fine after getting enough rest and take some medicine I’ve left in your room. Do you feel better now?”

He barely noticed the fever got better until Baekhyun mentioned it. “Yeah, I do. I’m...” the words he supposed to say on his call to the male died on his tongue now that he was face-to-face with Baekhyun. He couldn’t contain the embarrassment. “I’m sorry you have to deal with... me, and... thank you for helping me”

“No problem. You should tell me if you feel unwell, I’ll understand. We keep this work casual and friendly, no need to feel pressured of deadlines” Baekhyun showcased his amiable smile once again, “Oh, I bought you a chicken soup too. I keep it in the refrigerator, you can just heat it up before taking the medicine” the smaller’s thumb pointed to the kitchen behind.

And Chanyeol couldn’t feel grateful and guilty more than he had, “thank you so much”

“Alright then, I’ll be taking my leave now” the brunette glanced to the dark sky outside the wide floor-to-ceiling window.

“Oh, right” Chanyeol stupidly nodded and a little bit late to realize he was blocking Baekhyun’s way before stepping aside and escorting him to the front door. “I can walk you to the car”

Baekhyun held up his hands, “no need, I’m fine. Thank you for the coffee, Chanyeol- _ssi_. It’s nice”

“Just call me Chanyeol” he didn’t know why he felt the need to say it now.

And he didn’t expect to see Baekhyun’s smile widened at that, “only if you call me by my name too then”

Now it was Chanyeol’s turn to smile, “fair enough”

Baekhyun only chuckled softly before stepping out the door, “okay, goodnight, Chanyeol”

“Goodnight, Baekhyun”

Their meeting the next week went smoothly. They had discussed on the major part of the bar and a little change on the railing for the mezzanine. And Chanyeol was quite satisfied with how their works turned out so far. He was quick to grasp on the concept Baekhyun had on mind, his preferences, and their ideas meshed up well which made the lawyer enjoyed their little collaboration.

“Where are you going after this?”

Chanyeol looked up from where he put his things inside his backpack. “Hmm...” he really hadn’t thought about it until now that Baekhyun asked. “Find a place to dinner, I guess. How about you?” He returned the question whilst zipping up the bag.

“I’m craving for _Galbi_. Do you want to grab a dinner before going home?” The brunette offered which Chanyeol had no hesitation to oblige.

“Sure, where do you want to eat?”

Baekhyun scratched his head, shrugging afterward, “I don’t know. Maybe I could use some recommendation from you”

It left Chanyeol thinking for a while. Like how his friends were, the COO started to acknowledge the fact that Chanyeol knew a lot of places. Giving recommendation and reviews were his forte. Guessing their preference was the challenge. “There’s a place I used to visit in Hongdae.”

“Okay, let’s go. You said you didn’t bring a car, so we can take mine” Baekhyun stood up from his seat.

“Wait, it’s hard to park a car there” Chanyeol stopped him from going to the car park.

“Oh? Should we take a taxi then?” The other suggested, flashing his phone for ordering the taxi.

“Well... I don’t bring a car, but...”

Baekhyun only titled his head waiting, “but?”

Chanyeol didn’t expect for Baekhyun to say yes for sitting on the back of his blue scooter, wearing the spare helmet and his too big bomber jacket since it was quite windy for a spring. He looked excited for a simple night ride, calling for his personal chauffeur to pick up the car in the restaurant and hopped on the backseat in no time after Chanyeol turned the ignition. He kept asking where he bought it, or whether he named it, which he kinda was, and muttered about how cool it was. Well, amongst other cool things Chanyeol had, the scooter might be the coolest one in Baekhyun’s opinion. And Chanyeol gladly answered the trivial questions shouted on his ears amidst the sound of the night wind.

They arrived in the restaurant just in time for the last table available. It was quite packed during after-hours. Baekhyun looked around the place after the waitress noted their orders. “You’ve been here?” Chanyeol asked.

The smaller male shook his head, “no, I only watched it through drama. I want to try sometimes, but Sehun doesn’t have much time and I don’t want to go alone either.“ Baekhyun thanked the lady after she was done placing the side dishes and cold water jug, neither of them feeling like drinking tonight. “I think I have been to one of these restaurants once in my last year in high school” he added.

“Sehun said you were in public school?” He poured them both water into the cups.

“Yeah, I had a girlfriend in junior high school. Her father’s company collapsed right before we graduated, so she had to switch to public for senior high school. And I couldn’t leave her alone. I confronted my parents to get into the same school as hers” Baekhyun cackled before raising the cup to his lips. “Young and foolishly in love, aren’t we all?”

Chanyeol’s memory of his middle school love story came back at him. About the kind-hearted Seohyun who dumped him for a popular jock when he was nothing but a nerd who read Conan and Sherlock Holmes in between recess. He smiled bitterly, “indeed” then mimicked the other with his own cup, gulping the content in one go.

“But thanks to her, although we broke up three months later. I got to experience a whole new different things” the lady came back with the raw meats and condiments, turning on the grill and leaving Baekhyun to continue his story, “my friends, they didn’t know I was the Byun Baekhyun. All I told them was my family worked for the Byun’s and they always joked I could pretend to be the son since we got the same family name but different fates”

Chanyeol was about to ask why he did that, but then it was most likely upon Baekhyun’s parents request. “My parents were paranoid about me getting kidnapped or harmed, so if my schoolmates asked where I got fancy stuffs, I just told them I was close with the Byun’s son. It was hilarious” Baekhyun laughed lightly followed by Chanyeol who found it amusing.

“Did they find out eventually?”

“In our first school reunion, somehow they did. One of them saw me on Naver, and I said sorry for lying, but it didn’t change anything. They still treated me like I was their friend. It was a good memory, singing at noraebang, playing games at internet cafe, trying street foods, and this one too” the brunette held up his tongs, and the grill sizzled when he placed a piece of meat on it.

Chanyeol smiled recalling the first time he saw Baekhyun in his uniform, waiting for Sehun from the gates after school. Chanyeol almost thought the smaller used to hate him even before they knew each other, because of how he always seemed to leave every time Chanyeol tried to approach. He actually looked forward for Sehun to introduce them both yet it never happened until a month ago. “Well, you can simply ask me if you need a friend. I know good places”

Baekhyun looked at him through the wisp of smoke from the grill, and flashed his signature smile, “I don’t doubt that, so I will”

After reordering four times more, their bellies were finally had a hard time stuffing another round of meats. For someone as small as Baekhyun, he surely got a huge appetite. Almost as big as his, but he got his size to compensate where it all came from. Smelling of barbeque and full stomach, they left the restaurant satisfied. Chanyeol suggested they rode around the area before dropping Baekhyun home and the latter happily agreed. He just remembered it was weekend when he noticed the streets were particularly crowded. So, they needed to ride slow and dodging people here and there. Baekhyun started to twitter about one of his friend’s confession to a girl in a busking which ended poorly because the girl just dated a boy from another school a week before. And Chanyeol told him he once did a busking here a long time ago.

“Really?” Baekhyun truly surprised as he gripped on Chanyeol’s shoulder.

“Yeah, me, Sehun, and our bandmates. Some labels tried to contact us after that, but we declined. None of us were actually wanted to pursue a career in a band. That was all for fun” Chanyeol explained which earned a disappointed sigh from the passenger side, he chuckled at that. “Disappointed much?”

“Of course, it would be cool if you and Sehun are K-pop stars” Baekhyun muttered, sounding genuinely discouraged and it kinda cute.

“Sorry then, we’ll say yes next time” Chanyeol joked and Baekhyun laughed along.

“Oh! Oh! Chanyeol look!” Baekhyun patted his shoulder and pointed to a stall in the street. A small circle of people surrounded it, he thought Baekhyun might want to check it out so he stopped his scooter and parked it nearby. The smaller eagerly hopped off and weaved into the crowds.

After getting a good look, it was a game stall with balloons in the cells, and the players shooting darts to pop them. “My friend said you have to be good at this to make your girlfriend happy. And he used to ‘practice’ before getting himself a girlfriend” said the brunette, giggling after he saw the girl next to the player hit the poor guy when the dart missed.

“Anyone wants to try?”

“Me!” Baekhyun raised his hand.

The man with the bell looked over, “yes, the young man over there” and the COO excitedly stepped in the middle of the crowd and exchanged the money for darts. The man explained the simple rules before starting the game.

The first throw hit the balloon, the crowd cheered and the bell rang. The second until the fourth went perfectly aimed, yet the six remained untouched. Baekhyun looked dejected but he was clearly enjoyed the game. The smaller was ready to walk back to where Chanyeol stood when he stepped out the circle into the center. “One try, please”

Baekhyun watched the entire exchange in silence, standing next to him when Chanyeol shooting his first try which ended with him succeeding in popping two balloons. It hurt his pride so badly, but Baekhyun just kept smiling and clapping his hands “nice try! I didn’t even pop one in my first time”

Yet it only spurred his determination even more, he fished out a bill from his jeans into the man’s hands who smiled gladly. “One more” his eyes zeroed on his enemies, the damned balloons, as he retrieved bunch of darts.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please give a round of applause for our fighter!”

Chanyeol didn’t know how many times he slapped his money to the man’s awaiting hands for stupid darts. And slowly Baekhyun’s happy face turned into a slight frown and before they knew it, the man rang the bell long and loud, the increasing spectators cheered, and Baekhyun jumped and clapped, high-fived Chanyeol who beamed back at him.

“Here’s our champion for the night!” The man declared. And sure, Chanyeol felt like a champion, but not for winning a stupid game, it was more than that as he felt his heart thumped wildly in his chest seeing the radiant smile of the beautiful male before him.

“Oh my God, you did it! Congratulation!”

Pride and happiness swelled in him, as stupid as it might sound yet this felt like the most rewarding congratulatory, he ever received. “Thank you” and for some reason, he felt shy hearing it from Baekhyun.

“Okay, gentleman, choose your prize wisely” the man who busied himself counting the bills spoke. Oh, yeah, he definitely forgot about _that_ one prize.

“Pick whichever you like” Chanyeol said.

Baekhyun’s eyebrows rose with that, “but it’s your prize”

“No, you’re the one who wanted to play the game. So, the prize is yours” _because I already got mine_ , he wanted to say.

Baekhyun knew there were no room for arguments with Chanyeol so it was no use to confront him about it, instead, started looking at bunch of stuffed animals hung on display. “the elephant” he told Chanyeol. And Chanyeol forwarded to the man.

The man was about to give the plush to Baekhyun when he snatched it first, confusing the man for a while before he shrugged it off and back to counting his money, or was Chanyeol’s. Then he gave it to Baekhyun who eyed the big plush in his arms for a second, and beaming at him. “Thank you, Chanyeol”

And there were butterflies’ wings fluttered within his stomach, along with the _Galbi_.

“Chanyeol- _ah_ , are your friends coming?” Yoora asked from where she stood in front of a mannequin, lips occasionally held straight pins as her hands roamed around the dress garments. It was 10 minutes past the scheduled time for their appointment, his sister had to go to her friend’s baby shower in a few hours and he hoped they had enough time.

His call went straight to the voicemail for the fifth times. “Yes, Baekhyun’s on the way. I couldn’t reach Sehun though” and he redialed the number when Baekhyun barged into the room, looking flustered and hurried.

“I’m sorry I’m late, there was an accident and I was stuck in the traffic” Baekhyun looked apologetic, and he greeted and bowed to Yoora as she approached them.

She waved her hands off, “oh, that’s fine. Please take a seat” Yoora motioned to the couch and Baekhyun took the space next to him. “Where’s Sehun?” She asked.

“I’ve reminded him about the appointment this morning, and I’ve been calling him since I got into the car but he hasn’t answered yet.” Reasoned the brunette, hands fumbling with the phone.

“Maybe he got an emergency?” Chanyeol assumed.

Baekhyun nodded, “I think so too, maybe I should call the hospital” not long after, coincidentally Sehun’s name displayed on the screen. “Sehun- _ah_ , where are-“

Whatever Sehun said on the other line was clearly shocked Baekhyun as the words died on his tongue and his whole demeanor froze. “What?” Then he excused himself to the far corner of the room. His words were softly spoken that Chanyeol didn’t have any clue of what happened. Then his voice raised a little, Baekhyun was adamant about something before he sighed and faltered, ending the call reluctantly.

Chanyeol who pretended to scroll through his phone eventually looked up when Baekhyun approached, looking distressed and agitated. “Sehun can’t come” he uttered lowly.

“Is there anything wrong?” The lawyer tried, expecting the smaller to give him half-assed attempt at lying. Yet the latter gave him and his sister a somber gaze as he sat down on his previous spot. “Naeun just passed away”

Chanyeol’s heart skipped a beat. The name was familiar. There was no doubt that it was the girl Luhan had been talking about when he asked why he kept lots of _Frozen_ storybooks in his car. Or why he had stayed later in the hospital lately. He was so attached to the girl even before he knew she was Sehun’s daughter. And he might be upset too.

Yoora brought a hand to her mouth in reflex, “oh dear” and marched closer to claim a seat next to Baekhyun, “I’m so sorry to hear that” then she put her arm around Baekhyun, giving a soft squeeze to comfort him. “Chanyeol- _ah_ , could you please drive Baekhyun to the hospital?”

“Oh, no, you don’t have to. At times like this, Sehun needs to be alone. He needs some space to... grief” this fact obviously upset Baekhyun as well. He looked helpless and Chanyeol wished he could do something to ease the worry on his face.

He left the two far enough to speed dial his contact. On the third beeps, the line answered, “Chanyeol”

“Luhan,” he licked his lips, uneasiness crept on his nerve hearing Luhan’s low voice, “I heard from Baekhyun. Are you alright?”

There was a long silence until Luhan released a heavy breath. “No, Chanyeol. It’s... So sudden” Luhan was never one to deal well with death. He was too soft for a doctor, oncologist especially. He might not cry for 3 days for his late patients anymore but it didn’t make it any easier either.

“I know. But you gotta be strong, remember?” How Chanyeol wanted to embrace him and caressed his hair at this moment was almost overwhelming.

“Yeah” and another silence.

“Do you want me to be there?” He eventually asked.

“That’s fine. I got this. The funeral will be held today. I’m sorry I can’t come to your apartment tonight”

The lawyer shook his head as though the other could see it, “I understand. How’s Sehun?”

Again, the silence stayed longer this time. “He looks... broken” and Chanyeol couldn’t even imagine what his always confident and tough friend would look like in this very moment. From what he heard in Luhan’s stories, Sehun seemed to cherish the child a lot, and Chanyeol felt truly sorry for him. He looked over to the male sitting a little bit far for him to notice, with Yoora ran her hand in his arm in comforting gesture. Naeun’s death surely affected Baekhyun, but only a little fraction of it, what was more was Sehun. Sehun was the reason for the sadness in his eyes.

“Can you... can you stay with him?” Right now, Chanyeol didn’t want to go through his internal battle of what was his real intention of asking Luhan such a thing. Sehun was his friend, and he cared about him. There was no buts. _That should be enough, right?_

“Alright” he almost breathed in relief when he heard it. “I’ll call you later” Luhan informed.

“Be safe” Chanyeol said before the line disconnected. He walked back to where the two seated, “Luhan’s with Sehun. He should be fine” and pocketing the phone on the way.

His sister looked at Baekhyun, “would you like to go home and take a rest? We’ll find a suitable time for you and Sehun, if you want” Yoora offered which turned the latter’s whole demeanor into a panic.

“We can still do the try-on while I’m here, you have spared your schedule for us. Is it okay if it’s only me?”

Yoora threw a glance at him and back to Baekhyun, “are you sure?”

“Yes, I know you must be busy, let’s not waste the time, and I’m sure Sehun’s will fit just fine. Where do I need to change?” Baekhyun stood up, eyeing the Park siblings alternately.

“Well,” the designer followed as she rose from her seat, “based on the last measurement, Chanyeol and Sehun are roughly the same size, so” his sister turned at him, “why don’t you give a favor to your friend, Chanyeol- _ah_?”

The black suit fitted just fine on him, although the white trousers were a bit shorter than his usual ones, yet it was barely noticeable, so he wasn’t complaining. Over all it was a perfect fit as he preened on the mirror, twirling around to check the sides and back, fixing the collar, straightening the lapels and he was all set.

In less than a month, Sehun would wear it to marry Baekhyun. They would live in a big mansion, had beautiful children, and died happy. And Chanyeol should be happy too, it couldn’t be helped when the thought sent a pang to his heart. He shut his eyes to chase the thought away, but it danced behind his eyelids. Of Baekhyun’s smile, of children’s laughter...

_Chanyeol, do you love me?_

His eyes sprang open, wildly looking for the source of voice. And he found nothing but himself alone in that spacious fitting room. He must be insane by now as he pulled the curtain aside a little too harsh, “I’m done” whilst putting on the cufflink on his wrists.

Yoora’s face lit up as she uncrossed her legs and walked up to Chanyeol, “lovely!” She muttered, brushing insignificant dusts on his shoulders and righting the bowtie. “Is it fit?” His sister asked.

“The pants a little bit shorter on me, but they’re fit” Chanyeol told her, fixing the other cufflink while he did so.

“I’m ready” Baekhyun’s voice was heard from the opposite fitting room and Yoora’s assistants helped to pull the curtain to reveal the man in a matching tuxedo as his, white suit and black pants. Their eyes met when the ladies swarmed on him to fix his wedding suits.

“How beautiful” Yoora voiced his thought out loud before he did as she approached Baekhyun and their stare broke when the woman asked the same thing as she did to Chanyeol.

And in this very moment, Chanyeol thought if there was something such as the evilest man in this world, it would be him. As cruel as it might sound but he felt grateful that Sehun didn’t come and be the first to witness Baekhyun in his wedding garments, all beautiful and breathtaking. And Chanyeol didn’t want to look away from his shy chuckle as he said something to the assistant. Because when the day came, he would be wedded to someone who wasn’t Chanyeol and Chanyeol too, with someone who wasn’t Baekhyun. And it shouldn’t make him sad, no, it really shouldn’t.

“Hey” he just realized it was him and Baekhyun on the platform now.

“Hey to you too. It’s... You’re beautiful” Chanyeol said it before he could stop himself, and here there was the embarrassed little laugh from earlier.

“Thank you. You look nice in those suits” simple words and his stomach somersaulted.

“Okay boys, I’m going to take a picture for my archive, wait, Yoojung, do you see my phone?” Yoora asked her assistant who checked her desk and the couch.

Chanyeol was quick to pull out his phone, “here, here, take my phone” and motioned for Yoojung to give it to Yoora.

“Alright. Ready, one, two- Oh, come on, why are you guys suddenly so awkward around each other? Chanyeol move closer, Baekhyun- _ssi_ too” and so they did until their sides were touching. “Perfect. On three! One, two,” Chanyeol didn’t know what was possessing him to be bold enough to place a hand on Baekhyun’s waist. He turned to Baekhyun to check if it was okay. And the latter who sensed the movement turned to look back at him. If it was possible for his heart to burst out of his chest, this might be the time as it beat loudly that he wondered if Baekhyun heard it too when his face morphed into surprise.

“All is done” Yoora’s voice brought him back to the present and he swiftly retreated his hand as his sister came up to the platform to give back his phone. “Don’t forget to send those to me.” She ordered and he only nodded obediently. “Okay then if it’s all settled. Baekhyun- _ssi_ , I’m sorry I have somewhere to go, is it okay if I leave first?” Yoora flashed her apologetic face.

“Of course, I couldn’t thank you enough for making all of this possible. Thank you so much” Baekhyun bowed at her which she replied with a bow and courteous smile.

“My pleasure. If you need anything, you can talk to my assistants or Chanyeol. Congratulation for the wedding” They shook hands, and Baekhyun thanked her for the last time before Yoora promised him she would come, and they bade each other goodbye.

It left them alone to stare awkwardly at each other before they laughed at how funny the situation was for them to be this awkward. “Okay, I’ll go change first then” Chanyeol let him and watched until his back disappeared behind the curtain to unlock his phone and tapped on the gallery. There were three new photos. Of them looking at the camera, of Chanyeol looking at Baekhyun, and lastly of them looking at each other. Chanyeol’s thumb hovered over the last photo and he smiled.

A persuasive person was a dangerous type of people. And Sehun was a very _very_ dangerous man in Luhan’s opinion. Well, maybe not in a bad context for his case, but still, he kept insisting to help Luhan in every way possible with a good and logical argument which the Chinese doctor couldn’t win. So here he was, waiting in the hospital’s lobby drop-off after finishing his morning round for Sehun to pick him up.

Five minutes later the familiar sedan pulled up before him and the tinted glass lowered, “come on in”

Luhan smiled at the invitation and entered the car. He noticed the stuffs piled up on the backseat as he buckled the seatbelt. “Wow, the kids are going to burst in happiness” Luhan commented, impressed on how dedicated the surgeon for the charity.

“I hope they will” Sehun winked and Luhan cackled.

“Naeun’s looking for you” he told him.

“I promised her I’ll come later after this, or videocall if it’s late. How is she today?” Sehun asked, making sure to look at him for a few seconds.

The blonde nodded his head, “all is well” and it seemed to satisfy the surgeon as he started to change the topic about the kids they were to meet. Their names, their ages, what they liked or what they were good at, and funny moments happened during his visits. It seemed to Luhan that Sehun spent quite a lot of time with those kids for him to be able to distinguish each of their names and traits. And it fascinated him how someone as busy as hospital’s CEO got to passionately talk about children.

“Why don’t you choose pediatrics then?” Luhan wondered out loud.

“Well,” his finger tapped on the wheel for several times before answering, “you can say I’m new to this,” he made a random gesture with his hands, “child-friendly feeling?” his eyebrow rose, uncertain of the term he used.

“You mean the fatherly feelings?” Luhan helped, slightly amused of his choose of words.

“Yeah, perhaps something like that. If you give a baby to the twenty-five years old me, I might be the one who’s crying because I couldn’t even hold them” hearing this, Luhan burst out laughing with Sehun joined him.

“What happened then?” the blonde couldn’t help his curiosity. Chanyeol, for example, didn’t mesh well with kids until Luhan came along. He had always been that awkward around children, despite of his size, Chanyeol used to be scared of tiny humans. Fear of hurting them, making them cry, and feeling helpless when he didn’t know how to pacify them. And he guessed, he was pretty much good at training Chanyeol to be the uncle of the year, and hopefully, daddy, sooner.

“It started when my brother held a charity in the orphanage. I met the kids, and they were the one who approached me, not the other way around,” Sehun chuckled in his own throwback of the memory, “and after seeing Naeun, it just comes naturally at me, like…”

“Like you were born to do it” Luhan finished for him. And Sehun turned to look at him like he just solved the world’s biggest mystery before focusing back on the road ahead with a smile on his face, “yeah, like I was born to do it” he repeated the sentence.

The orphanage located at the outskirt of Seoul, and the kids were excited by the time their car entered the yard. Some kids even huddled up to hug Sehun’s legs and waist when they saw him on his way to cross the field to the house. Luhan couldn’t help his chuckle at the cute sight, all of them laughing and kept calling for Sehun which was overwhelming and heartwarming at the same time.

“ _Ahjussi_ ,” he felt a little tug on his hand and found a baby stared at him with big curious eyes, “who are you?”

Before he could open his mouth, Sehun’s voice caught everyone’s attention, “come on kids, let’s go inside, I have someone to introduce” he glanced to Luhan with a smile then herding the lively pack to the direction of the house.

“You’ll find out soon, come on” Luhan offered his hand to the babe who didn’t hesitate to take his into his much smaller ones and together followed the crowd ahead.

“Guys, this is doctor Luhan. He’ll play with us today. Please say hi to him” Sehun talked in front of the small gathering room with Luhan next to him, facing the kids who scattered in a half circle on the rug.

“Hi doctor Luhan!” The kids greeted in unison. And Luhan’s smile widened to look at their inquisitive gazes. They were twenty-three in total. Three of them had yet gone to school. Fifteen in their primary school. And five were middle-schooler.

Luhan waved his hands to greet them back, “hello everyone! Nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you too!” the kids replied with the same enthusiasm. And Luhan wanted to coo at how cute they were.

“Oh! Oh!” his eyes caught the small movement made from the right side of the circle, it was the lithe boy at the field, “I have a question!”

“Yes, baby?” Luhan responded in endearment. The babe lowered his hand, tilting his head cutely, “what does ‘Luhan’ mean?”

“It means ‘deer in the dawn’ in Chinese” the pediatrician answered which gained another question from a girl seated on the opposite section, “you’re Chinese?”

“Yes, I am Chinese”

Luhan’s answer made the little boy gasped, “he’s from heaven?!” he talked to the older girl next to him.

“No, Hansol, he’s from China (jungguk), not heaven (cheonguk)!” the girl explained adorably.

The boy whose name Hansol looked disappointed with her correction, yet not for long as his confused face appeared once again, “what is China?”

He was about to intervene the naïve conversation when another question came from a long-haired girl at the back, “can you speak Chinese?”

“ _Ni hao! Wo shi Lu Han!_ ” Luhan merrily spoke in his mother tongue, leaving the little darling in awe as her mouth made an adorable ‘O’. This sparked the rest of the kids to shoot out their own curiosity from the innocent _Can you do Kung Fu?_ To the history of The Great Wall. The blonde got to show them his photos from years ago at one of the world’s 7 wonders on his phone which ended up with the children surrounded close to the two adults, Sehun got two babies on his laps meanwhile Hansol got Luhan all to himself.

Sehun excused himself in the middle of Luhan’s tale about Mulan, winking at him and Luhan smiled in return for getting the cue. The children were so mesmerized by his story-telling that they demanded another fairytale right after it ended. Sehun wasn’t lying when he told him these kids were bright and sweet, despite the unfortunate fates they were in. And there was Hansol. He was like the sun in this home, the brightest one at that. After seeing the child in person, interacting and noting the way he behaved with everyone else, Luhan couldn’t help thinking about what Sehun had said the night before. Did Sehun see Luhan the same way Luhan see Hansol? Because honestly, he didn’t have any idea whether he was allowed to feel happy. He probably shouldn’t imagine things and let himself into thinking something that wasn’t real, that only exist in his head. Sehun was just being polite, considerate, friendly and nothing else.

“Anyone wants ice cream?”

Luhan hadn’t realized Sehun just barged into the room and the children cheered happily as they trickled into the hallway in excitement. And for the first time since Sehun smiled at him on that fateful day in the children ward like he did now, Luhan’s heart beat in a different rhythm. “Wanna go grab some ice cream?”

His cheeks were getting warmer, he hoped they didn’t flush too brightly. “I’ll join you later” he told him shortly then pretending to tidy up the storybooks on the floor. After no longer sensing the other presence in the doorway, he sighed as his body relaxed a bit although his heart took more time to calm down.

“He likes you”

Luhan turned around to find the long-haired girl. The room was empty except the two of them. Her name was Gaeun, an eight years old girl in a blue dress. He was surprised to find her still here while her friends were sprinting out there five minutes ago. Did she see his mantled cheeks or was he being obvious? Children could be very observant sometimes. At the same time, they were gullible. The pediatrician sent her a smile, “why don’t you go with your friends?”

Instead of answering, she looked at the bright sky through the window, “it will rain” then back at him, “soon”

The children were beyond ecstatic after seeing the ice cream truck parked on their yard and later received the gifts they had written on their letter to Santa last Christmas. It was Sehun’s way of apologize for missing the Christmas with them. Jinho’s wish was proven the most difficult amongst them since he wrote he wanted a Mama, Luhan almost cried when he told him the reason of his crestfallen face as he found a knitted sweater in his gift and Luhan hoped his warmest hug could make up for that.

And Hakyung who just got a new Polaroid eagerly urged everyone to take photos together. The blonde doctor who was initially stood at the back moved to sit at the center since all the kids wanted to be next to him. Luhan’s laps were long claimed by Hansol and no one had a heart to say no to him.

“Hyerin, move a little to the left! Chanwoo, your hand’s blocked Heejin’s face! Jooin and Hyunji, sit at the front! No! Not in front of Jaejin! To the side!” Hakyung slapped a hand to his forehead, managing twenty-two energetic kids were surely handful. But the oldest kid seemed to get used to the chaotic mess as he minded his own business with setting the camera atop the table. “Alright guys, in ten seconds!” After pressing the button, Hakyung ran to suit himself at the back since he was the tallest. And the kids started to countdown out loud.

At the count of eight, Sehun emerged in the doorway, “hey kids,“ yet suddenly got cut as some of the kids called for him, and motioned him to come.

“Sehun- _ah!_ ” Luhan shouted, then shocked at his sudden blurt out. The surgeon who got the cue, hurried to the space made for him in the center, next to Luhan. Embarrassment slowly crept up on him, and he hoped the other didn’t realize his mistake as he tried to conceal it with counting back with the kids. By the time it reached three, his voice faltered when an arm went around his shoulder. Oblivious to the sudden change of tempo in his heart as the man joined the countdown and smiled for the camera.

They took several photos afterward and never once Sehun’s arm left his side until one of the caregivers came into the room and talked with Sehun. Probably discussed about the mini library Sehun wanted to build. He didn’t know why Sehun sent a look his way, as though he was asking for a permission to go, and when Luhan nodded, he finally left. Like... he was matter and the blonde didn’t like how his feelings wanted to perceive the gesture as.

“Your voice is really nice” Sehun said for the first fime since they got into the car. Luhan clearly didn’t expect Sehun to clap along with the children from the doorway after he finished his little performance of ‘Tian Mi Mi’ with the limited skill on guitar Chanyeol had taught him.

“Thank you” Luhan muttered lowly, trying to hide his face just in case it could be seen despite the low lighting provided by the console.

“And the soccer too. I suppose you play soccer in your free time?” Sehun tried to spare a glance out of politeness for a millisecond due to the heavy rain palpitated against the windshield.

They played soccer before it started to rain. It was fun to see Sehun’s team kept losing against Luhan’s and how they schemed an evil plan for Sehun to keep Luhan out the game so his team could strike their goal. And no, Luhan just didn’t recall how the other’s sturdy chest felt against his back as he captured Luhan in his arms whilst the children were competing against each other. It was just a silly game.

Luhan released a laugh to will away the stupid thought, “no, actually I haven’t played since last year” he fiddled with his fingers, thinking hard of another topic which didn’t involve himself or anything that could trigger the dumb overthought. Sehun was about to pry more when Luhan beat it to him, “Gaeun is unique, isn’t she?”

Sehun seemed to give it a thought before nodding his head, “she is. Special in her own way. What makes you realize that?” Of course, there was no way Sehun didn’t know about this.

“She told me it’s going to rain soon when it was sunny and bright outside” Luhan was thinking back of her expression when she said it, the same one as she said the other thing before that. Not even a bit of doubt and hesitation in both her face and tone. It almost sent a chill to his spine.

“We just discovered her gift lately, and she’s still trying to figure it out too. She said I’m going to have a white puppy and bam! My friend asked me to adopt one of her newly born puppies the next week, a white bichon frise. And she told Baekhyun he’s going to have a twin. That one we haven’t found out yet. There are lot of things she said about premonition. Mostly were false, since she’s new and young to this ability.”

A thunder stroke somewhere. But it felt like as though it was his hope breaking with the last statement Sehun made. And Luhan’s lagged response urged the latter to check on him, “did she say something else?”

Luhan shook his head a little too quickly, “no. Just the weather.” But truly, her expression was something hard to forget as if it etched on his mind until he believed it.

“Oh, anyway,” Sehun started, tapping his fingers on the wheel, it seemed to be his favorite habit while driving, Luhan noticed. “I don’t mind you call me Sehun- _ah_ ”

It almost had Luhan’s eyes popped out of their sockets. He was so wrong when he thought it was long forgotten. “I-I’m sorry, it just came out like that. I didn’t mean to-“

“That’s fine. Really. Besides, it’s way more comfortable, don’t you think so? Should I call you Luhan _hyung_?”

If he almost popped out his eyes before, right now they were sliding near his feet. “I...” _come on, Luhan. It’s just a name, for God's sakes! Get yourself together!_ “Luhan is fine” he breathed out. Why was he being awkward for no reason?

Sehun nodded, “okay, Luhan” then showcasing his handsome smile at him which he had no idea what it did to his heart and toes in his shoes.

“Hello?”

“Someone told me you got into Oh Sehun’s car two weeks ago”

Luhan willed his eyes open to check the caller ID, he almost groaned out loud. It was too early to talk about this. “Can’t you wait at least until the sun’s up to ask me that?”

“No. Where are you in those two weeks you didn’t tell me anything?” He could imagine Minseok’s foot tapping with that tone alone.

Luhan moaned into the pillow. “Geez, Minseok, we just went to an orphanage”

“Oh yeah sure, sorry, I didn’t know you guys go to the orphanage every day.” What a sarcasm to start his day.

The blonde could literally roll his eyes in his half-sleep state. “Tune down the sarcasm, will you? It’s still early”

“Spill it” Minseok’s bossy attitude was too much to handle, thankfully he got used to it in these past years. He released a long deep breath before laying on his back, pinching the bridge of his nose to relief the exhaustion due to lack of sleep. What could’ve been worse than talking about the problem you’ve been cowardly avoiding first thing in the morning? But it was Minseok, and he didn’t take no for an answer and so he began to recite the short version of what happened in those day they spent babysitting Sehun’s ill daughter and the orphanage, making sure he left out the part where the strangeness started.

“So, you’ve been spending every night with your fiancée’s high school friend behind his back all this time?” Minseok’s judgmental voice made him wanted to rip his hair out.

“Damn, Minseok, you’re making it sounded so wrong!” Minseok’s laugh rang on the speaker. “And for your information, Chanyeol knew. And Baekhyun too. Chanyeol also helps Baekhyun to design his bar. Yoora _noona_ made their wedding suits, I’ve told you, haven’t I?”

“Wow. You guys are pretty... close to each other. And no, you haven’t told me that” Minseok sounded like he was kinda speechless of how involved they were one to another. From the wedding venue and date, to Chanyeol’s sister.

Luhan shrugged nonchalantly, “I guess so, but I haven’t talked much with Baekhyun. He sounds so... sophisticated” from what he heard from Chanyeol’s stories, he could tell that Byun Baekhyun was a high-class man, everything about him screamed elegant and cultured. And somehow the little part of Luhan couldn’t help to feel small and insecure compared to everything that was Byun Baekhyun. He felt foolish to even thinking he stood a chance against him.

“I hope he’s a nice guy. I mean Oh Sehun befriended him since they were in diapers, and now they’re getting married. It’s a valid reason for me” Luhan hated that his best friend was right, that there was absolutely no reason for Sehun to look for anyone else, not even him. What could beat marrying your best friend?

“Yeah” he admitted, laying the back of his hand atop his eyes. He just indirectly admitted his defeat, “yeah” and damn it stung. His initial plan of confiding his sins to Minseok was gone in seconds. He should know better than playing with a fire. And now that it started to flare up and burn everything it touched, that was when Luhan realized his mistake. And he didn’t know how to stop the fire without hurting himself in the process.

“Okay then, I’ll see you at lunch”

Luhan chuckled, “damn you, you could’ve just asked me about this at lunch”

“I’m no patient man, Luhan. Bye now” and just like that the line went off, along with the trace of smile and chuckle. He barely acknowledged how deep he was in this shit he created. In a span of weeks, he was going to be married, and now he caught feelings with someone’s fiancée. It was both a bless and a curse that his feeling was one-sided. A bless because that meant he wasn’t cheating, a curse because well, it hurt like hell. It felt like he was back in middle school, crushing for his straight senior, at least it was better because he was straight and wasn’t engaged to an all-perfect man slash best friend. _Ah, what a mess..._

Not even five minutes after Minseok’s call, another ring came. _Really?_ People couldn’t just give him a time to wallow in his own misery. If he wasn’t thinking about the possible on-call duty, his phone might be crushed in pieces to the wall right now. “What now?” He didn’t care how clipped his tone at this point. To whoever out there, he hoped they got the message.

“Doctor Lu...”

The taxi driver shouted about the copious amount of change he didn’t take, but Luhan could barely care as he ran all the way from the lobby to the room at the furthest side of the building. The adrenaline was the only thing that kept him moving since he lost his appetite in the past days. He had to get to that room before it was too late. For the last time. For _one_ last time.

And his legs came to a stop in the doorway, watching a man caressing a peaceful-sleeping little girl, unperturbed by the weeping of the old lady on the other side of her bed with the nurse patted on her back. Then the man leaned down to kiss her head, long and sweet before he drawn back his body, to see her face, running his thumb across her cheek.

The sight was so familiar that he knew what would happen next. The man pulled the cover up to her chin, making sure she was warm and safe. Something was clearly holding him back before he leaned down once again to whisper on her ear. He didn’t need to hear it to know what it was, for he had seen it million times by now. And after getting a ‘sweet dream’ she deserved, he smiled and walked toward the door, passing him like he wasn’t there and Luhan’s heart broken into pieces.

The funeral was held in the afternoon. With only Sehun’s family, a few hospital staffs, and Mrs. Yoon in attendance. Luhan didn’t think he had some tears left by the time the casket lowered to the ground. Sehun remained stoic throughout the entire process, occasionally accepting the condolences.

Until one person came up to him, did he reacted differently, “ _hyung_ ” he called in a low voice. They embraced each other tightly, it was the first time Luhan saw the emotion in his eyes other than emptiness since this morning. The fact that this person could pull that kind of effect on Sehun was quite relieving and surprising. He supposed this was the only brother he always talked about.

“Hello” the man greeted after the brothers parted. Luhan tried to conjure up a smile, although it might appear like a cringe, “you must be Luhan” he proffered his hand to him, “I’m Yeonseok. Sehun’s older brother”

Luhan took his hand, feeling the firm grip. Confidence seemed to run in the family. “Yes, Sehun told me a lot about you” he said to Yeonseok, earning a weak smile in return.

“I bet he did” and glanced to his brother who didn’t seem to catch what they said as the surgeon stared off into the now deserted cemetery.

“Luhan- _ssi_ , do you mind if I talk a moment with Sehun?” Yeonseok asked, there were lines of worry in his sculptured face, might be due to loads of stress and age did to him, but he was still very young for someone who was in their late thirties.

Luhan quickly shook his head, “no, of course, please take your time” The older brother thanked him, tapping softly on his sibling’s arm as he made his way toward a big tree not far from there.

Like he did back at the orphanage, Sehun sent him a look. Not for a permission, but for something like a silent plea. _Don’t go,_ his eyes told him. The blonde gave a single nod, “I’ll wait here” then Sehun went to trace his brother’s steps to where he stood under an oak tree.

“Aww, poor baby”

He pivoted on his heels to meet a woman who had her black shades on. She took them off when they finally stood side by side. It wasn’t hard to guess she was the mother to the gentlemen by her look alone. The tall genes, eyes and lips, all those dominant features must be inherited from her.

“He really loves that child” she added, and Luhan just realized she was talking about her _baby_.

The pediatrician gave a bow to her which she responded with a nod of head, “I can assure you he does, ma’am”

Then she released a weary breath out. “Our _Sehunnie_ never copes well with someone’s passing. He tends to close on himself off for quite some time, and let a few in.” He followed her eyes to the two men in distance, and Yeonseok’s comforting hand on Sehun’s shoulder. It was impossible to hear what they were talking about, whatever it was, it clearly succeeded in stirring up some emotions in him. Sehun didn’t even let a tear down, and it truly concerned Luhan how tight he must be pressured all his sadness away.

“One of them is Yeonseok. But he didn’t let me in. He wants so badly to be a strong big boy in his Mama’s eyes.” The corner of the woman’s lips turned up a bit as they witnessed the brothers shared another hug. The big brother’s hand never stopped giving the comfort they could provide, drawing soothing circles on the younger’s broad back. After they separated, only did the woman turned at him, “Oh, pardon my negligence, I’m Oh Seyeon. And you are?”

“My name is Luhan, ma’am. I was Naeun’s oncologist” he almost cringed at how he put past tense on his words.

Oh Seyeon displayed her smile at him, and it reminded him so much of her son, “no wonder your name sounds familiar. Thank you for your hard work” she lowered her head a bit.

Luhan returned the gesture with another bow, “the pleasure is all mine, ma’am. I’ve tried my best”

“I’m sure you did” the familiar smile never left her face. As though she remembered something, her face turned apologetic, “Oh, again, I’m sorry for keeping you with rambles of an old woman. You’re surely a busy man, doctor Lu”

“Of course, I don’t mind, ma’am. Not at all. And doctor Oh personally asked me to wait for him, so I’ll wait” as he said this, Mrs. Oh’s eyebrow rose at him.

“Oh Sehun?”

The blonde nodded to confirm, “yes, doctor Oh Sehun”

Her whole face changed from surprised to intrigued, “you must be close then, a friend from Germany?”

“No, ma’am. We've just acquainted through a mutual friend recently” Mrs. Oh was genuinely stunned for some reason he didn’t know, and it confused and made him wondered if he said something wrong which he didn’t as she altered back to pure amazement with a mysterious yet beautiful smile he had ever seen in that day.

“Interesting”

It wasn’t the way back home to neither his nor Sehun’s apartment by the time the car turned into an unfamiliar neighborhood. And still, Luhan didn’t say a thing as the automatic gate opened to reveal a modern-looking house inside. The building wasn’t by any means a mansion but huge enough than the average house in the area.

“Come” was the only word the man uttered as he led them into the house. When the lights lit up the entire space, he noticed the lack of furniture and appliances, there were unopened card boxes at a corner, sofas and tables draped in white cloth, and the strong smell of wooden flooring and newly painted walls were still palpable on the air. He didn’t get to inspect much of the living room since Sehun’s footsteps broke his attention away toward the flight of stairs he slowly ascended. And Luhan followed without a word. Until they reached a door on the right side of the hallway.

The man took his time just standing at the white door, clenching and unclenching his fist before touching the doorknob with shaking fingers, and finally turning the knob. It was a dark room until the light flickered on. Yellow dominated the walls. Unlike the rest of the house, this one was fully decorated. The wardrobe, bed, desk, window, they all accentuated in white. The shelves were filled with various storybooks. Animal plushies lined the bay window. Luhan stepped closer to the desk, his hand brushing against the surface, not even a dust could be found. And his hand froze when it bumped against a glittery book, _Naeun’s diary_ , the big handwritten words displayed on the cover said.

“She was supposed to be here today to see her own bedroom.” Sehun stood in the center of the room, shoulders slumped. Eyes unfocused, now they were borne with open sorrow for everyone to see, but there wasn’t anyone except Luhan who saw how vulnerable and fragile he was in this moment. “God, she would be really mad if she knew I stole her diary to make all of this,” The surgeon laughed bitterly, “but she would forgive me, she always does” then lowered his eyes to the floor as he smiled, “do you know… that she likes yellow now?”

No, he didn’t. “Neither I do, but her diary told me. It’s all because of you, and I should be mad at you too.” Luhan looked up at his saddened smile, “I just painted blue, and now she likes yellow, and,” Sehun’s lips started to tremble, and slowly his whole body shook. A tear escaped his eyes, and another, then it rained down on his cheeks uncontrollably. “I painted it yellow” he said it so low that Luhan barely caught it.

He didn’t know if his heart could take it anymore. It hurt. Everything was hurt. The Oh Sehun he knew for the past months was gone, all he saw was a broken-hearted father, letting his tears down for a daughter he could never have. And Luhan hoped he could save her, he could save him, all of them. Yet here he was, powerless and helpless. And he hated that he couldn’t stop it from happening. None of them could. He thought he could be stronger for the both of them, but the tears kept flowing down on his face as he stepped before the man, reaching for his dampened cheeks. When their eyes met, they told thousand unspoken words, and it only made him ached even more.

“I painted it yellow, Lu” he whispered. And Luhan gathered him in his arms, tight, to make sure he didn’t fall. And the big arms around his waist tightened, afraid to let go. Like their lives were solely depended on each other, despite none of them stood on a stable ground, but at least they had each other. And for now, Luhan wanted to believe that as the man buried his face on his neck, trying to feel as much as skin not to lose contact with reality. Because Luhan was the reality, the yellow room could never be.

Everyone started to notice how their CEO doctor often to be seen in the pediatric wings even a week after her daughter’s passing. He thought it was because of him joined the popular kids table consisted of doctor Kim Junmyeon from cardiology, doctor Wu Yi Fan from ob-gyn, and his partner, doctor Huang Zitao, the rookie plastic surgeon. But the stares and whispers were getting obvious that wasn’t the case. It also didn’t help that Sehun was being ‘overly’ affectionate towards a mere fellow doctor. After that night, Luhan assumed Sehun being clingy was a part of his coping mechanism, yet that too was put into the question when he had a fiancée at his beck and call. All of these signs nearly drove him insane, and the rumors made it even worse.

The pediatrician was just done with the rounds of the day, stepping out of the last patient’s room only to find the leading actor of what had been troubling his mind in these past weeks appeared at the nurse station, smiling and chatting with staffs as they laughed, probably at his dad jokes.

Sehun was getting back to normal self quite fast, the dark circles under his eyes were fading which meant he got enough sleep now. No matter how he looked on his bad days, Oh Sehun was still a sight for the sore eyes. And there he got the light on his eyes back as he finally acknowledged his presence in the hallway, those thin lips stretching wide. _Here we go again,_ his stupid heart accelerating for no reason. _It’s just a simple pull of orbicularis oris, you dumb, what are you getting excited for?!_ Of course his heart wouldn’t listen, like would it ever!

“Oh, Luhan. Have you done?” Oh Sehun was only a few inches taller than him yet how come his legs looked so long. Truly a big mistake at attempt to distract as his heart kept its fast tempo realizing what a fine man this person was as he walked in his direction.

“A-ah, yes” damn, now his lips started to betray him! What else the next?

Without any prior notice, the other man reached for his hair, combing his fingers through them. He heard a gasp, almost mistaking it as his if it wasn’t for the hurried excuse as his assistant left them alone in a clink-clank of her scurried pacing. He felt as though someone lit a fire on his face, because surely his cheeks were burning like hell.

“Got another piggy-back ride job?” Sehun chuckled casually, like he didn’t know what kind of roller-coaster ride job he did to his insides.

“Yes” he face-palmed at his lame answer. He definitely had a trust issue with his own body! _Damn, Luhan you’re not a high-school girl experiencing her first love! Stop acting like one!_ Seriously, he was ready to beg on his knees for his body to listen to him.

“Ready to go home? Let’s try this new sushi place at Sinsa. My friend recommends it and...” as if his ears tuned his voice out, all he could see was the surgeon’s handsome face, recalling the feeling of the hand on his hair, his smile, his laugh, all of him which responsible for his sleepless night. The realization of how any of this wasn’t a mere simple crush was maddening. On top of that, their own upcoming wedding would due in the matter of two weeks. And how deeply wrong it was for him to have this kind of feeling.

“Do you know a good place to drink?”

Luhan never learnt that Sehun could actually tell him that unicorns existed and he would believe it in a blink of an eye. It wasn’t his intention to invite the man to join his pity party. He only asked the man to name a place, not to get a full-listed reason why he shouldn’t drink alone—in other words, he should drink with him— which wasn’t a big problem honestly, because he had been doing it for years, but Sehun went all paranoid-dad on him was too cute to resist. Or he just that whipped.

And so, he found himself seated on a comfy leather couch in Oh Sehun’s opulent apartment, with the turntable played some jazz in French, and the electric fireplace mounted on the wall across dancing its pixels flame. A ball of fluff kept him company as his master disappeared somewhere within the penthouse, tongue lolling whilst a hand gave his ear nice scratches.

“Vivi likes you” Sehun entered the room with two glasses in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. The top two buttons of his shirt unbuttoned and his veiny forearms were exposed due to the pulled-up sleeves which was a rare sight to behold. “Do you have dog?” The surgeon turned to him while pouring the wine into each glass.

Thankfully, the blonde looked away just in time or he might get caught from staring too much. “I have a cat” told the pediatrician. Sehun nodded his head, placing the bottle on the table then reaching out for the stems to give him one. Luhan muttered his thanks and they nursed their first sip in silence, save for the soft crackling and the vinyl record.

Just before he thought the topic would end there, Sehun asked, “what its name?”

“His name is Zhu” he answered.

Sehun seemed to ponder over it for a while before trying on his lips, “Zhu”

“Yeah, I named him Zhu, because he’s so fat like a pig” Sehun laughed at his answer, his eyes turned into crescent moon and Luhan might like it a little too much.

“Oh my, he must be really cute then” the taller commented, bringing the rim to his lips the second time.

Luhan flashed a smile, “he is” his hand swished the red liquid inside the glass, smelling the aroma it gave, this was a fine-aged wine. “How old is Vivi?”

“He’s barely a year, maybe nine months. His owner gave him away when he was three months old” Sehun watched the bichon frise draped his front paws lazily on his guest’s laps, eyes closed enjoying the soft caresses against his fluffy fur. And once again they fell in a comfortable silence with no one said a thing, each immersed in their own thoughts.

“Luhan,” the man called, “can I be honest with you?” The unusual request put his mind racing a mile of what could spur the other to say it in the first place, yet he nodded anyway. “You’ve been distracted lately, and you don’t seem to have a good night sleep either. It starts to concern me.” Sehun drew his eyebrows together, “you helped me a lot, more than I could ask for. And I wish I could help you too, if you let me”

The words died on his lips. The fact that Sehun noticed what was going on with him left the blonde speechless. Sehun cared, and a little part of him wanted to jump in happiness. Yet instead it was Vivi who jumped off the couch and walked towards the fireplace before resuming his position.

He didn’t know where to start. Luhan looked back down at the wine and gobbled down the entire content in one go, hoping it could calm down his nerves a bit. “I kissed a boy in sixth grade. I had a crush for my soccer teammate in middle school. My ex-girlfriend dumped me because I’ve never kissed her. I first dated a guy in college, and since then on I started to know myself. I met Chanyeol. His parents are so nice, treating me like their own son, and I wanted him to be welcomed in my family like how his did to me. So, on one of those visits, I brought Chanyeol to our family dinner.” He halted for a moment to release a deep breath he didn’t know he held, and a laugh to ease the anxiety. “You could guess it didn’t end well. I’ve never expected it would be the last time I met and talked to them. They cut all ties with me, and said I’m no longer their son, that I’m a disgrace to the Lu’s. But no matter what, I’m still trying to reach out for them even though they never responded. I sent the invitation a month ago, and as you can see, no answer. None of my family would come to my wedding, it supposed to be my happy day, and it’s disheartening” Luhan wiped away the tears before it could run down, it was a poor attempt to hide it from the other though.

“You’re more than that” Sehun’s words made him looked up to the man, those eyes were full of determination and Luhan wanted to believe everything he said, “you’re a doctor, a filial son, a great friend, you could die trying to be what anyone asked of you, and it’s their loss that they couldn’t see that.” Sehun took the glass from his hand and placed those back on the surface. “Listen, Lu,” both of his hands perched on his shoulders, turning his body so they were only arms apart. “You did the right thing to let them know who you are, because they matter and they should know. And if they did what they do right now, it’s not your fault. None of it. If you thought family’s only bound by blood, Lu, you’re wrong. I...” there was a moment of hesitation before it disappeared, “I could be your family. And I am proud of you” he said it so tenderly that his heart melted. For Luhan, _family_ and _proud_ were expensive words. Something that he lacked of. And for Sehun to give it so effortlessly…

He could no longer hold the tears back as they fell down in a sob and Sehun was there to pull him into the safety of his arms. His hand caressed the back of his head as he kept whispering, “I’m here, don’t worry, I’ll be right here”

The living room was once again filled with laughter. The wine made everything lighter and funnier as Luhan threw his head back to Sehun’s story about his sixty years old patient. Anesthesia delirium had always been a good anecdote amongst the doctors.

“But doctor Yoo kept responding to her, saying Lee Byunghun is working right now to pay for her surgery. And she refused to eat until she saw her ‘husband’.” Luhan clutched his stomach, it hurt from laughing non-stop and Sehun details didn’t even help. They were breathless with a smile on both of their faces. His mind was a little bit fuzzy, so was Sehun who kept slipping on his words. It was kinda cute hearing his slight lisp, he guessed it must be his tipsy habit, also how he licked his lips every now and then, it was too distracting and the sane part of him didn’t like what he had on mind.

Before he could realize what was happening, those pair of lips touched his. His eyes were blown at the sudden contact. They stayed still for a while, just lips on lips, afraid that one wrong movement would burst the bubble. It felt like forever before they parted, and two brown orbs stared at him. They were clearer from up close, and the alcohol’s daze was long gone. Oh Sehun was far from drunk even with the bottle empty, the lip-licking was a sign of nervous, “you’re... you’re so beautiful. And I couldn’t help it when I was the one who makes you laugh like that” the butterflies in his stomach spread their wings, flying around to tickle his insides. He thought they were long dead, but Sehun rose them from their grave, and now it seemed like only Sehun could pull any reaction to them. Like how they pushed him forward to have another taste of those soft lips.

This time it was far from chaste, his mouth opened under Sehun’s poking tongue, as they savored each other’s cavern. An arm circled around his waist to bring their body closer, and he had no objection to refrain as he climbed to his laps. The blonde almost moaned when his ass sat on something hard. God, he made Oh Sehun hard and it only spurred him to grind down slowly. It was Sehun’s turn to groan, biting his lips and squeezing his cheeks down harder.

Their lips parted once again with a string of saliva connected them, Luhan almost couldn’t stop himself from diving back when he saw his eyes clouded with lust, “Luhan, I want you. God, I want you so much” his cock jumped at the husky voice as he scrambled off from the taller’s laps only to pull him up to reconnect their lips as their hands impatiently took off each other’s shirts. Sehun even popped a few buttons on his shirt but he couldn’t give a damn at this point, he could rip it off and his demon would die in happiness.

After succeeding in throwing each other’s tops, his frantic hands yanked down the gray slacks and found the underwear left nothing to imagination. He pulled it down and he definitely wasn’t disappointed as his mouth immediately watered at the sight. If Chanyeol was well-endowed, Sehun was blessed beyond _measure_. It looked huge and angry, and he didn’t think his mouth would fit which drove him crazy with want as he pushed the taller back on the couch, and positioned himself in between his legs, eager to have a taste on the blessings.

Sehun’s back arched when his lips kissed the tip in worship before engulfing two third of the length into his mouth. The hair which he fixed that afternoon was now turned messy courtesy of the same hands. Luhan started to bob his head up and down, eliciting a deep moan from the surgeon. As he massaged his balls, Sehun began to buck his hips, forcing the entire length into his throat. Eyes watered as he released a choked sound which sent a vibration along the girth, earning another pleasured groan.

“Ahh, Lu, I might come if you keep doing that” and Sehun pulled his face away from his groin to see his flushed face and precum dripped at the corner of his lips, “my turn” he smirked before laying him down on the coffee table. The glasses and bottle rolled down to the carpet with a muffled thump which neither of them cared. His eyes watched Sehun kicked the rest of his pants off and taking off his in a swift as the honest part of himself splayed on his stomach. It gave him a mixed feeling of wanting to be ashamed or turned on even more to have those fiery eyes feasted on his bare body. And he decided it was the latter when big arms caged him in between.

The staring contest was too much to bear to the point he might come with his stare alone, “take me” there was no doubt that he was begging.

And the answer came in a whisper to his ear, “anything you want” and those sinful lips began their journey there. His limbs automatically twinned around the strong body as the lips mapped around his ear, neck, and descended down further with his encouraging moans until his cock went into the hot cavern did his tone pitched higher, his back curved and his head hung upside down on the table's edge from the incessant squirm. He could see beady eyes stared at him with worry, he frowned from the pleasure and the stare, he wanted to tell the dog that there wasn’t nothing to worry about and his master was doing a really good job to make him feel good.

“A-ahn!” Two wet fingers scissor their way open broke his reverie as though reminding him to think about nothing but the man. The digits kept adding, so was the pleasure. At the fourth, it started to jab slowly, exploring the velvet tunnel until he screamed particularly loud did the fingers crooked. He grasped the shoulders hard, “Sehun! Sehun! Stop!”

The intrusion was gone immediately, and he was met with Sehun’s worried face, “Lu, did I hurt you?”

But Luhan only shook his head, “no, it’s just...”

“It’s just what?” Sehun prodded impatiently, he looked scared, and Luhan understood why.

“I don’t want to come with your fingers” Luhan didn’t think he could say it casually like he did now if it wasn’t for the alcohol in his system.

And something in Sehun’s face flicked back, as he said in between gritted teeth, “you’re so in trouble” before scoping him in his arms and brought them seated on the couch. The hard rod snugged fitly in between his cheeks as he teased with rolls of his hips, only letting the tip at the puckered calyx without intending to let it in, yet. Sehun groaned in frustration, enjoying the torture game with a revenge to latch his mouth on the nipple, and it was Luhan’s turn to grip bunch of hairs in his palms. The teasing went for quite some time until neither of them seemed to have patience left in them.

Luhan’s hands looked so small compared to his face as he held him under his jaws. Hairs turned to all direction, swollen lips, half-lidded eyes, all of them were his, at least tonight. “Mine” he whispered, hoping if he said it out loud, it would somehow become real in his hazy mind. All senses were out the window when their lips met in a tantalizing kiss, as his hips rose to welcome the feeling of finally becoming one. He unconsciously winced into the kiss when he was halfway down, “you’re too big to handle” and he felt a squeeze to his waist just in time with the cock twitching inside him. The blonde wanted to laugh but turned into a groan. Definitely another wrong thing to say to a man who barely held down his lust as he urged the rest of his length inside to the hilt. Luhan felt so full like he had never been before, it stretched him wide and Sehun patiently let them adjusted for a while, although the twitching was a total gave away.

He hadn’t had sex for a long while. He was surprised Chanyeol hadn’t asked for it. Maybe they were too busy to even think about it. Sehun might know this too as he said, “I hadn’t had any since I met you. Not even a kiss” the butterflies fled away and he didn’t know what to do with this burst of happiness except peppering the handsome face with kisses as his trembling thighs sprung up and down experimentally. Their intake of breath increased along with Luhan’s movement. The slapping sound competing with their sultry moans.

The blonde strands matted against his forehead, the evidence of how hard he was exerting himself to create the mind-blowing friction, even with the help of those big hands on his hips. “More, harder” he pleaded, and Sehun slunk down before bucked up hard. Luhan spread his legs wider to accommodate the cock deeper, and when it did, both of them cried out in sync.

“Do you like that?”

Luhan nodded deliriously as he put his arms around his shoulders like a lifeline, “yeah, yeah, do it. Oh, fuck, Sehun” he rode him harder, incoherent words of supplication stumbled out upon his lips.

“Luhan, you feel so good, oh God,” Sehun kept chanting his name was a total turn on, as his lips marked his territory on his neck. “You’re so tight it makes me crazy” after he said this, his back was met with the couch. And a barrage of thrusts were aimed to the bundle of nerves in the deepest part of him. His brows knitted at the abundance of pleasure coursed through him, it wouldn’t be long before Sehun discovered that a sex with drunk Luhan involved lots of dirty-talking.

 _Fuck me, harder, deeper, give it to me right there_ , were kept repeating amongst his moans. His legs locked on Sehun’s lower back as he laid there, accepting the cock speared into him while he whispered words of encouragement for the man to keep moving both his hips and hand, until he couldn’t hold it any longer and released a long deep moan as he spurted white ropes on their chest. It only spurred the man to go feral as he pistoned with a new vigor, his lips never seemed tired to kiss him, muffling the chant of _ah_ and _oh_ before they parted to breath and a particular sentence triggered the explosion.

“Come inside me, Sehun- _ah_ , I want it so bad” and just like that Luhan clenched hard on the huge shaft as his walls filled with warmth. His heels dug harder against his back, plunging the cock deeper inside him, so no drop of cum could spill out.

If he felt so full before, right now he felt like could burst as he hummed to the feeling of milking out the cum with the clenching of the rings. Sehun groaned at the juncture of his neck, occasionally kissing his shoulder as the warm stream lulling him into a deep slumber, oblivious to the words whispered on his ears.


	6. but will never break

Ever since Chanyeol happened, Baekhyun realized he spent his time less and less with Sehun. After Naeun’s death, Baekhyun made sure he called him every day, and their conversation always ended short which was a new thing the relationship. They never ran out of topics but these days it seemed like they had. He would like to associate it to Sehun's mourning phase, but Baekhyun wanted to do something about it.

He left the office early and went back to his apartment to cook Sehun’s comfort food then off to the hospital. He tried to give a few rings to his phone and ended straight to the mailbox, so he didn’t have much of a choice but to ask the staffs directly instead.

“I’m sorry Mr. Byun, it seems doctor Oh got an emergency operation, it will probably take 5 hours at most. Would you like to leave a message?” The male staff told him, eyeing the paper bag he put on the desk.

He was here to meet Sehun, obviously leaving the food here wasn’t the case. He retrieved the bag, and flashing the staff his courteous smile, “it’s okay, I’ll just wait for him then, thank you” then left the information desk after the guy bade him a good day.

Barely five steps from the glass doors, his eyes caught a familiar blonde near the taxi queue. Apparently, he wasn't alone as an elder couple stood not far from him. They seemed to be in a serious conversation which halted his steps to greet him when he realized the woman cried as they shared an embrace. It lasted for a while before the woman got into the taxi. Luhan was about to bow when he was pulled into a hug with the man. It looked awkward for an outsider perspective but Baekhyun could say the same for him and his mom. Even after the man followed his wife, the doctor still remained rooted on his spot, watching the car until it disappeared into the corner.

Baekhyun felt like he was breaching someone’s privacy. The sight was too intimate for anyone to see, and he shouldn’t be here when he realized it the first time. He was about to leave when suddenly the blonde turned around whilst wiping his eyes. Surprise was presented on both their faces.

Baekhyun blurted out the first thing that came to his mind, “Luhan- _ssi_ , are you okay?”

The other suddenly went conscious of his look, began to wipe the remnant of tears away with his sleeve, “yes, I’m fine” and a chuckle to conceal how the white lie was obvious.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to...” his words trailed off, trying to think of the right word to describe the whole situation.

“Of course, that’s okay” Luhan was quick to save him the explanation, his smile was comforting when he supposed to be the one who comfort him, not the other way around. “Are you going to see doctor Oh?”

“Ah yes, that was the plan. But he got an emergency, I guess I’ll have to wait then” he shrugged, eyes falling on the poor _kimchi_ fried rice inside the paper bag. He looked back up to the young doctor and couldn't help to wonder if what happened earlier was the reason for the weariness on face. “Luhan- _ssi_ , have you eat lunch?”

Baekhyun could be pertinacious if he wanted to, when Luhan realized the food was supposed to be Sehun’s, he tried to decline, but Baekhyun insisted he could have it. “I could cook him another. It’s his loss that he makes me waiting” and finally Luhan relented. It was comfort food for a reason, and right now, Luhan needed it.

It was a perfect day to be outdoor. The cherry blossom bloomed beautifully, some petals were kept raining down on them every time the wind blew, but no one seemed to mind as he watched Luhan taking his first bite. “How was it?”

“It’s perfect” he replied genuinely, and Baekhyun thanked him. “Do you cook often?” The doctor asked. And the conversation went from there to the topic around cooking. Baekhyun recalled about Kyungsoo who used to teach him how to cook simple recipes, including this one. Luhan liked to put more spices to his version of Korean food since Chinese cuisines tended to have strong taste. The COO wondered why he always failed to make his own _Malatang_ , and Luhan gladly helped to give him some correction on his cooking style.

“Sehun said you like spicy foods. Too bad you have to eat his food, I’ll make a spicy one for you next time” Baekhyun sensed the sudden halt of his hand and he briefly guessed if he said something wrong but then thought nothing of it as Luhan gave him a smile, “I’d love to”

No rice left on the lunch box thirty minutes later which put a satisfying smile on Baekhyun’s face. They sat in silence with their stomach full, relishing in the spring breeze accompanied with a rippling sound from the water fountain. A little bird bathed on the shallow part of the puddle brought another mean of smile out. It was about how six years old Chanyeol cried for days after he brought his new canary out the cage to bath her only to have her fled away. He wondered if Luhan thought the same too or if Chanyeol told him at all as they watched the tiny creature frolicked on the water.

“They’re my parents” Baekhyun slipped out from his reverie to look at the blonde, he was about to ask what he meant by that when the latter added, “who you saw earlier, they’re my parents”

He tried to recall their faces, no wonder the woman looked similar. “You look just like your mother”

Luhan breathed out a light chuckle, “I get that a lot” then he seemed to get lost in his thought, gazing at the falling petals. Some of it even managed to tangle on his hairs, but Baekhyun made no move to pick it out because it looked beautiful on him. Like he truly belonged in the spring. Long lashes hooded his twinkling eyes. The cool gush of wind tinted his cheeks pink. His beauty was almost otherworldly, the only thing which reminded him of a human was probably the scar on his lips. Even that too seemed like a perfect imperfection. Luhan was too beautiful for a man, maybe a woman too. Chanyeol was lucky to have him. No, they both were lucky to have each other. Somewhere within him ached to admit the bitter truth.

The doctor sighed, “this is first time I met them after years without any contact” his eyes looked back down towards the fallen _sakura_ scattered on the ground. Baekhyun chose not to say anything, only letting him take his time to tell anything he wanted to say. “They disowned me for liking men” this time the corner of his lips turned upward, “but today, they told me they’re here for my wedding. And my dad, the very same man who once told me I should burn in hell for the sins I’ve committed, do you know what he said?” a bead of tear rolled down his cheek, and he didn’t try to conceal it anymore. “He said he wanted to give my hand away to the man who loved me”

Baekhyun felt his heart sinking so deep that he forgot how to breath. It hurt to even suck an oxygen to his lungs as though he was drowning, breathed in water. It was suffocating but he shouldn’t let the other know how deep his words pierced through his heart. He watched his shoulders shaking, crying his heart out, oblivious to another heart bleeding. But none of this was his fault, if anything, Baekhyun was the one to put on blame of his own heartache.

He could tell Luhan was a good person. As much as Baekhyun wanted Chanyeol to himself, he didn’t have a heart to hurt Luhan. This person would be the last person to deserve any kind of pain. And Baekhyun felt guilt gripped on his heart as he put an arm around him, gently rubbing soothing circles on his shoulder.

“And he will, I know he will” Baekhyun didn't know whether he was trying to convince Luhan or himself anymore. But one thing for sure, he knew how much them both wanted to believe those words.

_**LOEY** : Where are you?_

Baekhyun typed a quick reply.

_I’m at Delight. Why?_

And tapped sent.

“The kitchen is nice”

He pocketed his phone and looked up to Kyungsoo who emerged from the door at the back. “Of course it is, I make sure it fits your height” the chef raised his hand to scare him away with a hit but Baekhyun only stuck his tongue out and laughed. He knew Kyungsoo became more lenient with him, despite his hard and cold personality, he bet his friend never once raised his voice at his child.

Those big round eyes scanned the entire space, “this whole place is great. Are you sure you’re the one who arranged all of this?” One of his thick eyebrow rose in skeptic.

“So much faith in your genius best friend, huh?” Baekhyun quipped, folding his arms as he rested his back against the bar.

“Of course, it’s too good to be true” the chef let his eyes wandered to scrutinize every detail in Delight.

Baekhyun couldn’t help not to roll his eyes at that. “fine, Sehun’s friend helped me”

“Sehun’s friend?” Now he knocked his knuckles against the countertop, probably checking its material for anything he could comment.

Baekhyun wanted to roll his eyes again at how irrelevant it was for him but decided against it, “remember that guy Sehun kept hanging out with back then?”

Kyungsoo seemed to ponder over it for a while, “your dream guy?”

“What?” Baekhyun frowned in incredulity, how dare he and Sehun used that term!

“Yeah, you kept saying he was so annoying to keep Sehun away from you. And if you were gay, maybe you would forgive him because he’s your type but his curly hair isn’t” Kyungsoo said matter-of-factly which annoyed Baekhyun even more. Why should he have said something so embarrassing like that?!

“Alright, fine, forget it. That’s him” the COO stated in finality. What was done is done, there was nothing he could do to mend his embarrassment.

“So,” Kyungsoo’s inquisitive eyes ogled at him, this topic seemed to interest him as he stopped his unnecessary inspection, “what happened to make you and your archenemy decided to work on Delight together?”

Although a bit reluctant at first, Baekhyun elaborated the whole event to his best friend, excluding the part where he bumped into Chanyeol for the very first time, also the details of those private moments they shared, though it sounded like he was reading too much into it. By the time he ended, Kyungsoo’s brows pulled together in a serious frown, “what an odd coincidence” he definitely wasn’t the only one who thought so. “It’s like... your red strings tangled around each other”

“Do you think... it means something?” Baekhyun tried not to get his hopes high, it sounded so pathetic to look for a bit of validation for his feelings, but right now, he was, pathetic and desperate.

The other looked genuinely weighing up his answer, and Baekhyun wished he didn’t look hopeful as he waited, “well, if you see it-“

“Baekhyun- _ah_!” The door abruptly opened, startling the two males lounged on the bar. The intruder appeared as a tall man dressed in all-black, from his sneakers up to his cap. “Oh,” he looked a bit flustered to realize another presence in the place apart from Baekhyun, “I don’t know you have a guest, I’m sorry,” Chanyeol bowed in apologize.

He might joke about Kyungsoo’s huge owl eyes if he didn’t see how utterly shock the chef was. Chanyeol sent him a worried glance since they got no response for a full minute, “oh, don’t mind me. I’m just checking around the place since I’ll be working here. I’m Do Kyungsoo” the chef who seemed to recover from the surprise introduced himself to the taller.

“Hello, I’m Park Chanyeol. Nice to meet you” and they shook hands. Chanyeol cleared his throat, “ah, anyway, I’m just here to give you this,” he raised the plastic bag on his hand.

Baekhyun received the package and peeked inside, “what’s this?”

“I passed the _tteokbokki_ stand on my way home, might as well bring you some since you like it,” the taller grinned, “oh, Kyungsoo- _ssi_ , you can ask Baekhyun to give you some if you want, I bought more servings”

Kyungsoo smiled at him, “ah, thank you”

Chanyeol readjusted his cap, “alright, I’ll be going now”

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for a while?” Baekhyun offered, not really wanting for him to go yet. After their project with Delight came to an end last Friday, they hadn’t met since then. And Baekhyun would be lying if he didn’t miss seeing his face and his goofy smile just like he did right now.

“Yeah, I just want to surprise you then go home,” he snickered.

“I’ll walk you downstairs then” Truthfully, he just wanted to spend more time with him, even just for a few more minutes.

But Chanyeol held on his arm, “it’s okay, I’ll see myself out.” And Baekhyun disappointed once again. “Alright then,” he huffed a deep sigh whilst smiling down at him, “enjoy the snack”

“Thank you,” Baekhyun smiled back, “I’ll see you on Wednesday?”

“I’ll see you on Wednesday” Chanyeol repeated, easing off a bit of the letdown. They promised to celebrate on Delight this Wednesday before the wedding on the weekend. It made his heart heavy with the prospect of them seeing each other less. Soon he wouldn’t have any reason to see him often, because he would be someone’s husband. And Baekhyun too. Their barely started journey came to an end too soon and Baekhyun wasn’t ready to let go yet. Chanyeol’s warm palm left his arm as he bade Kyungsoo goodbye with a bow and threw him one last smile before disappeared behind the closed door.

“You both are cheating on your partners”

Baekhyun twirled around to see Kyungsoo said something so upsetting with a straight face. And it started to piss him off for real. “What did you just say?”

The nice and warm Kyungsoo was gone replaced by cold stare and stoic mien, “are you dumb or are you dumb? There’s something you didn’t tell me”

The brunette’s confusion tripled with each passing second. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? And no, we’re not cheating. How could you say that?” He stared at his friend in disbelief. Kyungsoo crossed the line this time and he wasn’t going to let this go.

“Because one, you just don’t have any random people call you Baekhyun- _ah_ , and two you don’t eat _teokbokki_ for fun, do I have to say three? You literally beg him to stay, and you don’t beg, Baek” he should know better that Kyungsoo could read him as easily as Sehun. All he needed was putting Baekhyun and Chanyeol in the same room as him and boom, he got everything figured out. Baekhyun could barely contain his feeling of being exposed as he closed his eyes. Now that the cat was out of the bag, there was nothing to hide anymore.

“If I like him and so what? You can’t call it cheating if it’s one-sided” Baekhyun stared hard at his friend which only earned a sigh as the other massaged his temple.

“You make my head hurts just thinking about it. You’re not only dumb, but you’re freaking blind too which point me to the next conclusion. You don’t just like him, you love him” okay, he still did have something to hide from his devil friend. He loved Chanyeol, that was undeniably true. “You know I won’t judge you. Love is something that come and go whenever it wants. But damn, you’re in a deep shit, Baek. When I say it’s tangled, I didn’t mean it as fucked up!”

The COO threw his hands in the air, “Kyungsoo, you’re not helping!” This had been his source of misery for months, and he didn’t expect anyone to know, because whatever it was, it wouldn’t go anywhere. Too much to risk, too much people to get hurt, and Baekhyun couldn’t be selfish, even if he could just take it right in front of his eyes.

“I am helping you! That guy right there,” Kyungsoo’s finger pointed to where Chanyeol was standing minutes ago, “how could you not see that honey was dripping from his eyes when he looked at you?”

His heart skipped a beat. “I... I don’t-“

“Of course you don’t! Because it’s too good to be true, isn’t it?” He felt like a bucket of cold water poured on his head. And he could die from hypothermia with a smile on his face. If Kyungsoo could see it, then maybe it wasn’t all in his head. Those stares, his casual touches, little gestures he made, they were real. His body was shaking as though he literally drenched in ice water.

“What am I gonna do?” He asked, suddenly clueless and he couldn’t think clearly because everything was too much. Time was ticking like a bomb, and he wished he could stop it from exploding.

This time Kyungsoo took longer to respond, “I don’t know,” the Kyungsoo who seemed to know everything now looked as lost as himself, “I don’t know, Baek. You should do whatever your conscience tells you, only you who knows what’s best for you. But remember, you can’t fight against fate”

Baekhyun decided this would be the farewell for both of them. He thought a coffee party seemed like a good idea, and Chanyeol agreed right away. It sounded sneaky but Baekhyun just wanted to bask in Chanyeol’s apartment for the last time. He didn’t dare asking where would he live with Luhan, whether Luhan would move in there because it hurt to just imagine Luhan’s stuffs mingled in between Chanyeol’s collectibles.

“Cheers for Delight!” Chanyeol raised his porcelain cup, and Baekhyun did the same for his, clinking them together before sipping the warm coffee, this too maybe for the last time. He should really stop remind everything for the last time with Chanyeol.

“How was the wedding preparation going so far?” Chanyeol opened the conversation after placing his cup back on the table. This would be last thing he wanted to talk about at this moment, but they couldn’t pretend it wouldn’t happen, they would be married in the same place, at the same time in a few days, it was an inevitable topic.

“We’re almost done with everything. Sehun’s mother helped us a lot,” Baekhyun took another sip before putting it back atop the saucer. “How about you?”

“We’re too. Just waiting for the flowers to be delivered on the day, other than that we’re pretty much done” Chanyeol replied, Baekhyun only nodded in acknowledge. “Where are you going to live with Sehun?” He got a feeling Chanyeol would ask about it, and his hunch was right.

“Sehun has a new home he recently built in Itaewon. He wants me to move in there with him” this whole conversation felt forced and awkward. Yet neither wanted to let go as curiosity got the best of him. “How about kids? Luhan loves kids, right?”

Chanyeol chuckled, “yeah, he got his surgery done long ago. He wants to have five. I guess we have to move into a bigger house if it does happen since neither mine nor his apartment could accommodate all of us” Baekhyun was definitely a masochist for wanting to hear all of this. It felt like his heart was stabbed with multiple knives, twisting them to every angle possible before puncturing deeper.

“I’ll miss you” he couldn’t stop himself from say it. It had been at the tips of his tongue, waiting for him to grow some balls to let him know he would miss him, he would miss them, and the short time they spent together. Especially since Chanyeol made it worth to take a trip down memory lane for him, teaching him simple things in life that he never thought would make the boring and stuffy Byun Baekhyun who knew nothing but stock numbers and business strategies handed to him in his young age, felt happy. Chanyeol who taught him that cheap arcades were no less fun than sophisticated game consoles, that eating _ramyeon_ directly from its pot would taste better, that he would rather have Chanyeol took him for a ride by his scooter instead of his posh sedan. All of them because of this one person he just knew for three months.

“I’ll miss you too” the reply came to make his heart fluttered. The feeling was familiar, like how his past lovers pulled the same reaction out of him. However, those eyes, after what Kyungsoo had said the other day, he could no longer deny it or pretended that it was all in his imagination, because how could a gaze hold so much emotion? No words needed to make him feel like... he was loved, so deeply. All it took was one big pair of eyes looking through at him and he would know. Chanyeol had been loving him all this time, with his gaze alone, and Baekhyun was too blinded and scared to see it.

He hoped Chanyeol knew it too. Because being this close and wasn’t be able to hold him, touch him, and kiss him, hurt. This love was a pain, but Baekhyun kept craving for more. And he wished every night that he could turn back time, so no one would get hurt.

And maybe Chanyeol thought the same as Baekhyun’s eyes followed his movement, his eyes which now looking at his lips as he inched closer to shorten the gap between them. He fisted the sofa’s fabric in his palm with the increasing heartbeat. And when their lips touched for the first time, there were fireworks behind his eyelids. Kissing Chanyeol was amazing, the bitter taste of coffee felt sweet on his lips. And he was a good kisser with how easily Baekhyun parted his mouth and let Chanyeol in. Slowly big hands framed his face, keeping him steady while the other worked to tilt his head every now and then so their noses didn’t bump.

His own hands reached for the lawyer’s waist, bunching the tee to put away the sheer distance between them and Chanyeol yielded to his silent request as he gently pushed Baekhyun against the sofa cushion. The sound of their kiss lit Baekhyun’s desire on fire, the need to feel skin on his fingertips burned as his hands made their way into Chanyeol’s baggy shirt, raking his nails against his back, and he moaned into the kiss at how good it felt.

As though his voice snapped them back from the hazy fantasy, the warmth gone as he opened his eyes and saw Chanyeol’s panicked face. Baekhyun watched him sat straight up before standing on full height, pulling his hair in horror at what just happened. 

“Baek, shit. I’m sorry, I don’t mean for this to happen” Baekhyun understood the panic behind Chanyeol’s action, and he was going to tell him that it was okay to kiss him, that he didn’t mind a bit, and he shouldn’t feel guilty but what he said next killed those words on his lips, “I shouldn’t do this, not to Luhan. Not again. God, I’ve hurt him twice, and now I...”

Oh, how Baekhyun was wrong. It wasn’t all about him. Of course it would be Luhan, what else it could be? Hurt and dismay painted on his face. He didn't know if he could take more pain than he already had. His soul was probably black and blue, and still, he let the man to trample on his heart and pride. He stared at Chanyeol in disbelief, “I love you”

This had the taller looked back at him, lips quivering, unsure of what to say or whether he heard that right, because confessing didn’t seem to be the right thing to do in this moment, yet Baekhyun’s heart always had a mind on its own, and with the bomb ticking in each passing second, right now was as good as any. He was desperate and in love, a dangerous combination as it could.

“I know I’ll fall for you from the beginning. From the moment I saw you with your stupid hair in high school. Somehow, I knew I would. And when I called you that afternoon, I knew this feeling would come back to bite me in the ass and I chose to ignore it because I thought loving Sehun would keep my heart secure. I love him, but not like this.”

Chanyeol seemed to find his voice back after a while, “Baekhyun, I’m...” he gulped, it was hard to see Chanyeol so conflicted with himself, but Baekhyun had laid all his cards out on the table. He couldn’t just back out as easily.

“I wouldn’t dare take the risk if I hadn’t known what’s really happening” he carried on.

This had the other pulled his brows together, “what do you mean?”

Baekhyun knew what he was about to say might put their relationship on the line, but he felt the need to make Chanyeol understand, it might sound presumptuous for his own gain but deep down, he just cared too much, “you’re not in love with Luhan. Maybe you were, but now you don’t. If he’s the one, you would never-“ _cheat_. The word was barely out but the look on Chanyeol’s face was an indication that he got his assumption right. “You would never try so hard to find someone else. Not even once.”

The lawyer’s pain-stricken face was quick to morph into something cold, like he slipped his indifference mask on, “what are you trying to say?”

The brunette internally braced himself, fist curling against his clammy palm, “that you should stop lying to yourself into thinking that you love him when in fact, you’re just using him to make you feel like you belong somewhere.”

Chanyeol snorted, “so, it makes you think you have the right to tell me that? Don’t you think you’re being cruel to Sehun?”

_He said he wanted to give my hand away to the man who loved me._

Luhan’s words rang on his ears, the tremor on the voice, the tears that fell, all of it which igniting the anger bubbled up in his chest as he stood on his feet, holding his chin up, “I said I love him! He knows that, I know that. But we’re not blind to see that we’re not in love! At least, that’s better than falling for the wrong people again and again! Sehun would never hurt me, and so would I! You may think I’m selfish. You can’t lie to me Chanyeol. You’re being unfair to yourself and Luhan!“

Never once Baekhyun thought he could see the day where there was so much anger within those orbs which now staring at him scathingly, “you don’t get to say anything about my relationship with Luhan!”

“Then tell me what were you going to say that night we met three months ago!” It was hard not to miss the recognition flashed on his eyes. Chanyeol knew exactly what he was talking about. And both of them aware that it was too late to pretend that night didn’t happen, that their introduction with each of their fiancée wasn’t the first time they met each other after years.

“Get out”

The shock was written all over his face, yet Chanyeol remained impassive like he didn’t just order him to leave his house. He couldn’t hide his disappointment that the latter chose to keep on his cowardly way of handling the whole thing, to shut his eyes and ears tight from the truth. Baekhyun took a step closer, even though he had to tilt his head up, “look at my eyes and say that you don’t love me, Chanyeol“

And Chanyeol did, looking at him straight, parting his lips to say something, instead of stating the truth he supposed to say, no words came out. Baekhyun’s heart quivered as he waited for the heartbreak to happen, and the little hope in him flickered along with the opening and closing of those lips he just kissed moments ago.

When he looked away, did the words came out, “I said get out”

It didn’t help to ease the throbbing ache in his chest. It hurt so much that he tried so hard not to blink the tears away and failed miserably as they slid down his cheeks, staining the rug in darker shades. _It's okay though._ What would he expect from this? What happened to the decision he made when he was ready to let everything go? He was such a fool to hope for something that would come out from all of this. _How naïve._ He managed to smile through his tears, “fine”

Baekhyun could feel his heart shattered in every step he took away from the man he loved. Because this was what he had been signing for in the first place and he shouldn’t act like he didn’t know it wouldn’t bound to happen. This was what he would get for letting himself fall for a man he couldn’t have. Byun Baekhyun should know better than that. However, if there was such a thing as turning back time and he could choose between a heartbreak or never fall in love with the man, he knew he didn’t even have to blink to answer. Because at least, pain was better than felt nothing at all.

This wasn’t how Sehun imagined the morning after a wonderful night they spent together. He was expecting a lazy love-making or morning kisses, not a flustered Luhan who kept pacing back and forth like a caged animal with a slight limp, clutching tight on the front of his shirt because some buttons were missing. There was nothing he could do either if the fresh folded shirt remained untouched on the edge of the bed.

“This is a mistake” he didn’t know how many times the blonde had said it since they woke up in bed naked.

Sehun shrugged, “I would probably think so too if we did it once. But no, you woke me up in the middle of the night and we did it two more times.”

Even from afar, Sehun could see Luhan’s ears reddened in embarrassment. Well, he just stated a fact. And the latter just went straight to ignore him like he didn’t hear it, “did you wear... a condom?”

“No,” and the other’s eyes widened in shock, “you... you got it done?” Sehun had the audacity to stupidly ask whether Luhan had done the ovary transplant because his reaction was an understatement. Now it was his turn to blush. “I’m sorry. I’ll get the pills for you” Sehun pulled the comforter aside, getting off from the bed to walk into the bathroom and taking one stripe of pills out the sink drawer then walked back into the room to see Luhan wallowed in his angsty phase.

“This is so wrong” the Chinese muttered. And Sehun could see how distressed he was in this whole situation. Sehun might too if he didn’t just listen to Luhan’s drunk slurs about Chanyeol’s past infidelity, how he hurt Luhan and still welcomed him back with open arms, justifying his own action that it was okay for him to fantasize about another man in his sleep—which he wasn’t because what they did last night was very much real.

Sehun’s blood boiled at his friend for treating Luhan so badly, and he wanted nothing but punching his face so that bastard could make up for the pain he inflicted upon Luhan, yet he knew the latter wouldn’t be impressed. His jaws were set as he unintentionally slammed down the stripe on the desk next to them. “But it feels right to me”

The misery on his face turned into irritation in response, “So, you were saying cheating behind his back is a right thing? Are you insane?”

Sehun aligned their gazes together, letting him know he meant every word he said, “No, it feels right because it’s you”

But Luhan was far from impressed, he looked back at him like he was a madman, incapable of thinking straight, “are you aware that you sound like a total jerk, right now? Do you even care for Baekhyun? He’s your best friend before he’s your lover!”

Sehun pushed his hair back, clearly frustrated how to make Luhan understand, because those doe-like eyes were staring at him in distrust, and it would take a lot of effort at this point, “Lu, listen to me. I know what I’m feeling. I love Baekhyun, I really do. But it’s not the same feeling as I had for you.”

The other only shook his head, snorting with a mocking laugh, “you’re just confused”

It started to get on his nerve too, and he wasn’t going to let his words turned into deaf ears, “this has been going for a while. I’m not gonna deny it anymore. It’s more than that, Luhan”

He had seen it so many times that he recognized it when Luhan used that tone and look to his children patients, “no. We’re just spending too much time around each other, especially in crucial times. And we’re going to marry our partners, maybe we had anxieties. I’ve read it somewhere. A-And it’s a common thing. So, we did what we’ve done to feel rebellious. We’re just scared, anxious, confused-“

Luhan began sputtering nonsense as he went on and Sehun was having none of it, “You’re in denial because you think it’s wrong“

“It is wrong!” Luhan snapped, startling the both of them with the sudden outburst. This was the first time he heard the pediatrician raised his voice at him, or at anyone. It simply didn’t suit him, and he wondered if he did cross the line. “It’s wrong, okay? I’m sorry.” Never once Sehun imagined someone said sorry for sleeping with him.

“I’d better go home” Luhan took the pills then stepped aside to pass him to the door.

“Luhan,” he reached for his arm. They weren’t done, at least not like this.

Luhan did stop without turning around and Sehun didn’t want to push his luck too far, “Don’t. Let’s just forget whatever happened between us. And we should stop hang around each other. There are rumors going around in the hospital, and it’s not good for your reputation” he tried to take another step only to be held back.

“Luhan, please, don’t be like this” this time Luhan turned to look at him, the usual spark on his eyes were gone replaced by something cold and dark.

“Promise me you would act like nothing happened or I’ll never talk to you again” Sehun almost didn’t recognize him. His voice, his gaze, they lost their warmth which made him Luhan. The arm was pulled out of his grasp as Luhan strode his way across the bedroom.

“Luhan-“

And the door closed.

Luhan avoided him like plague for the next few days. He would either turn away if he saw him in the hallway, or pretended that he didn’t see him at all. And Sehun would be lying if he said it didn't hurt him so badly, not talking to him, seeing his smile, or simply being close to him.

Sehun was lovesick because of another man when his wedding was only days away. Almost as ridiculous as it sounded, Sehun found himself hid in the corner of pediatric wing with passing staffs greeted him every now and then. Thankfully none of them questioned why their CEO stood behind a wall and did nothing for the past fifteen minutes. He checked his watch, it almost time for Luhan to clock out, yet there wasn’t any indication he would be out soon although his assistant had left ten minutes ago.

At the sound of the door opening, Sehun peeked behind the wall. There he was without his white coat on, closing the door. Sehun waited until he reached half of the corridor before jumping out from his hiding spot. Luhan’s weary face changed into one of surprise when he caught Sehun appeared on the other side of the hallway. He knew what he had exactly on his mind. Luhan couldn’t turn back to his office since he was too far, and there wasn’t a soul present except for them. Sehun smiled inwardly to his cunning-self as he strode quickly towards the blonde who tried not to be alarmed.

“Good evening-“ Before Luhan could finish his bullshit greeting, Sehun pulled his wrist as he dragged him, ignoring his yelps until he secured the lock to his office door. He turned around to find Luhan’s irked face as the latter clutched on his own wrist.

“What is wrong with you?!” Luhan shouted at him.

Sehun marched closer, pointing a finger at his face, “stop acting like you don’t want me!”

Luhan squinted his eyes, “What?”

The surgeon felt like his head might burst in pieces, _why couldn’t Luhan just understand?_ “Jesus, Luhan, fuck the promise. I can’t Luhan, I fucking can’t. Please don’t do this to me” he was borderline begging, helpless and clueless on what he should do to salvage the situation.

Luhan just tilted his face upward, seemingly frustrated himself as he sucked a deep inhale, then facing him with a new resolution, “you gotta be kidding me. This isn’t right, Sehun. We can’t-“

Sehun couldn’t help his overwhelming frustration as he yelled out, “Yes! And I know that! I can pretend that we don’t know each other, that everything didn’t happen. But I can’t pretend that everything we had isn’t real! Because it’s fucking real! When you walked out that door, the hurt is fucking real! So fucking real that I almost can’t breathe. This is killing me, Luhan! Knowing that I can’t have you or touch you when we’re so close is driving me nuts! I-“

Luhan stepped up and started to cut off his words with another shout, “you think you’re the one who suffered?! You think it’ll be easier for me? Well, fuck what you think because you’re so fucking wrong, Oh Sehun! This is your fault for- for all the things that happened! If you didn’t act so nice and so unprofessional, none of this would happen! I won’t love you and-“

The sound of the door knob jiggled broke their argument as their heads turned to the door. Luckily, Sehun locked it beforehand so no one would disturb their talk, but somehow it still did as it went silent once again and they looked at each other, panting due to all the screaming they did.

“You love me” Sehun stated breathlessly. The happiness bloomed in his heart knowing such a fact. _Luhan loves me. He said he loves me._ “And I love you.” And that was what mattered now.

Hurt was all over his face before Luhan looked away to the wall across, “please, Sehun. Don’t make it hard for me” it broke Sehun to see him so devastated and he wanted nothing but to make everything better. “I’m going to resign soon”

Sehun’s heart cracked at the revelation, not only they couldn’t be together but sooner he couldn’t see him anymore, probably never. “You shouldn’t” he muttered.

This time Luhan met his eyes, “it’s for the better” and Sehun didn’t think not being able to see Luhan again would make him feel better.

“What if... we’re meant to be together?” Sehun voiced out his last hope, the remaining faith he had that they could be together, that their encounter was written on the stars, and love was destined between them. _What if all of it are true?_

Luhan gave him a weak smile yet powerful enough to send a pang right through his heart, “then no matter how far we run, universe would always bring me back to you” and a single tear dropped from his eye. No one was more wrecked than the other. Sehun thought he was the one who suffered from all of this, yet the anguish present on those eyes he came to love was a proof that he was wrong. And he couldn’t just stand there watching the man he loved crying for the love they couldn’t have as he pulled him into his arms, holding him tight and secure. The warm tears dampened his clothes, yet neither of them could careless as they brought their body close for one last time. Just one last time until fate told them otherwise.

They stayed like that for a while, basking in each other’s presence, neither wanted to let go, but knowing eventually they had to. Luhan’s cries had ceased, his thumb wiped away the wet traces on his cheeks as his eyes took in everything that was Luhan because he didn’t know whether he would ever get another chance to see him up close. All of him would be someone else’s, and Luhan seemed to think the same too as his hand caressed his hair, eyes mapping every part of his face like he did. And when their eyes fell on each other’s lips, it didn’t take a rocket science to know what they had on their mind. Sehun too, wanted to kiss him so badly, but it would only make everything more difficult and that would be the last thing he wanted, so he held himself back with all his might. _For the better._

“Take care” and with a smile, he let Luhan go. His legs carried himself toward the door in steadfast steps. It was hard not to look back or hesitate, yet he knew better than yielding to the temptation to turn back and be selfish as he turned the lock and stepped out.

A man seated on the waiting bench quite took him by surprise. ‘Kim Minseok’ was written on his nametag. Sehun had seen his face around the psychiatric department a few times. Luhan also mentioned his name once or twice. He must be the guy Luhan called as his best friend.

Kim Minseok stood up to greet him. And Sehun returned the gesture as politely. He was without a doubt someone who tried to open the door earlier and from his expression alone he certainly didn’t expect to find Sehun come out of that room with red-rimmed eyes. Even so, Sehun just said the only thing he could ask of him.

“Please make sure he’s okay”

He took in the reflection before him of a man who was going to be a husband. All perfect and ready until he was called to step in front of the altar. Now that everyone left, leaving him alone in that room, Sehun could finally let his guards down without having to worry about anyone seeing how dead and hollow his eyes were amongst the perfection surrounded him. Everyone just wanted to see what they wanted to see, and an imperfection on Oh Sehun wouldn’t be much appreciated. He didn’t even have the time to heal so he just pressed on the wound until it became numb. At least, it still worked for him.

A knock on the door forcing himself to close the emotion off as he watched by the mirror for someone to come. A woman appeared behind the door and he breathed back in relief.

“Oh, look at my baby, so handsome and all grown-up” A hint of smile was present on her face as they looked at each other through the reflection.

“You must be proud of yourself then for having dominant genes for me and _hyung_ ” hearing her son’s answer, she rolled her eyes as she made her way to him. Sehun chuckled lightly, turning on his heels so he could embrace her. Having her in his arms warmed his soul, and Sehun needed that the most to keep him going, at least until the end of the day, _just for today._

“What happened, darling?” Blame it to mother’s intuition, but Sehun could never hide anything from her. She would know, she always knew.

As he pulled back from her embrace and had her hands cupping his jaws, he knew there was no point in building walls between himself and her. Sehun hated that he was the one who put her beautiful face into a frown of worry, “oh, baby, do you want to know what makes me happy?”

He watched her eyes, warm and welcoming like the rest of her, and it reminded him of someone. “To see you happy” she said tenderly, her thumb running across his cheek, a habit she developed since he was little and it always worked magic to calm him down.

“I’m happy only if you too. And there’s nothing more I want in this world than for you to be happy. Because you deserve it.” Sehun wanted to believe her last words, he really did, but with everything that happened, it was hard. “I love you and I love _Baekhyunnie_ too. And you both deserve the same happiness. I was hoping you could find happiness in each other” _Was_. His eyes looked back up at her, hopeful and desperate for anything that could save him from this whirlwind of dilemma. And she was his beacon of light. She had always been as she offered him her motherly smile and said almost too gently for him to hear, “I've seen you grown to the man you are now. I've seen you when you're the happiest. And I wish you can show me one more time, can't you, Sehun- _ah?_ ”

Baekhyun had always been beautiful. And today wasn’t an exception as he walked down the aisle with the twins scattered the flower petals on their way to the altar, mesmerizing everyone around him. Sehun offered him an encouraging smile when he sensed the other’s anxious stance. Even his hand felt cold under his touch when they finally joined before the priest.

Sehun couldn’t seem to focus on anything but Baekhyun’s cold and trembling hand on his. He gave it a light squeeze to let him know he was there with him, that they were in this together. But Baekhyun only continued to stare into something far off in the distance, blank and empty. It didn’t feel right at all.

When it was time for them to face each other, that was when he saw something embedded deep into his eyes.

_The beeps stopped, but the lack of voice from other line made him the first to speak, “Baekhyun?”_

_It took a few seconds before the voice came, “yeah”_

_“I... I’m just calling to check up on you since... yeah... tomorrow is the day”_

_The pause continued for a while, “yeah, it’s tomorrow” and another. “How are you?”_

_“I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about that anymore” even until today Baekhyun was still asking how he was holding up from the mourning. “How about you?”_

_“Me too” Baekhyun’s replied were rather short lately and it made Sehun wondered._

_“Someone at the hospital told me you were coming to see me on Tuesday.” Sehun saw miscalls from Baekhyun that day, yet he didn’t remember him said anything about coming to the hospital on their call._

_“I was going to have lunch with you, but I met Luhan” at the mention of the name, Sehun’s heart skipped a beat._

_“What about him?”_

_“I asked him to join me for lunch. He’s a kind person, no wonder people... like him” and again, his heartbeat accelerated at the idea of Baekhyun finding out on his own, because that would be the last thing how he wanted Baekhyun to know. But Baekhyun said nothing for the next few seconds which assured Sehun that there wasn’t any hidden premise to his words._

_“Baek,” Sehun tried so hard to swallow the lump formed on his throat, “are you happy with me?”_

_After the question was out in the open, silence shrouded them once again, this time it took longer and agonizing. Sehun didn’t know exactly when things started to change for the worse between them, and silence was never supposed to make him feel this way._

_“I am”_

And here Sehun thought Baekhyun’s answer was all he needed to keep everything going like it supposed to be. Sehun was too deep in his own grief and heartache to even notice the lie in Baekhyun’s words. Too busy to pity himself to realize they hadn’t really meet in weeks until today. He should know it better when he didn’t find Baekhyun on his doorstep on his birthday that something wasn’t right. If only he wasn’t selfish enough to think only about himself, he might see through all of this sooner.

“I... I do” a lone tear escaped from Baekhyun’s eye. And Sehun frowned, because this wasn’t the tears he wished to see on their wedding. Everyone couldn’t see it but him. No one did. Baekhyun could fool him by his voice, but not his eyes, not when he could see everything crystal clear. His hand held his face up so their eyes could do all the talking. More tears were coming, and his mind was in disarray.

“Oh Sehun, do you take Byun Baekhyun as your husband?”

“I...” with Baekhyun’s gaze penetrated deep into his own, he brushed the teardrop under his eyes, trying to read deeper into those orbs. And it was… _there_ , just waiting for him to acknowledge it. This time Sehun knew what he had to do, what his answer would be, and he braced himself.

“I don’t”

His answer earned gasps and whispers amongst the guests, but he didn’t care, because none of them mattered enough to have a say on neither his nor Baekhyun’s happiness.

He turned to the crowds ahead, voice loud enough to announce everyone in the venue, “we call off the wedding”

Sehun asked his brother to bring Baekhyun out of there as he handled the situation. Some of the family members were shocked, some of them were upset and demanded an immediate answer, and Sehun could only tell them that this wedding was unwanted by both of them which displease the elders. Byun Granpa wasn’t exactly thrilled by this, but only nodded to give him his understanding that they were both adults and entitled to choose their own life.

The guests were free to leave or enjoyed the foods catered earlier than the scheduled time. When things finally calmed down a bit, Sehun let himself sat on one of the empty chairs at the front row, it was tiring but relieving at the same time. That was... so close. He buried his face on his hands, nothing was ever this relieving for a long time.

“What a brave move you pulled out there, young man” Sehun looked up to see his mother claimed a seat next to him.

Right after announcing the rejection and explained his best reason to the whole family, his mother came to the rescue to aid the guests, working her charm on people to explain the situation, apologizing here and there. Sehun felt bad for putting a shame to the family when it could be prevented.

“Ma,”

“The weather is nice. Don’t you think so?” There wasn’t any malice on her words, just plainly as it was. She observed the clear blue sky. The spring breeze felt neither too cool nor warm, it was a perfect weather for a special day, yet not for Sehun and Baekhyun. For them, it was as good as any day, nothing special happened today.

Sehun went down on his knees before the woman, holding her hands on her laps as she looked at her son in confusion, “Ma, I’m sorry”

“Sehun- _ah_ ,”

“I’m sorry for ruining everything. I know how much you wanted this wedding to happen. I love Baekhyun and he loves me, but we’re not meant to be together. I’m not for him, and he’s not for me,”

His mother reached for his face, smile still etched on her lips, “it’s okay, baby,” all of his life never once he saw her anger, but this time Sehun wished he could see it because she deserved to be mad, more than anyone else.

“No, it’s not okay, Ma. I should’ve stopped it while I could, but I didn’t. I was too late to realize everything. I think... I think could live with Baekhyun. But then I realize I can’t... I can’t when I’m in love with someone else” there, he finally said it. It felt like all the burden on his chest suddenly lifted up, and he could finally breath. Sehun hated to hurt her but he could never lie to her. And he wanted nothing more than to do right by her. So here he was on his knees, begging for her mercy to love someone else even though she would never ask for it.

With her familiar gesture on his cheek and a smile, she told him, “then do what your heart is telling you right”

Her words kept echoing on his ears as he ran to where his legs brought him to. He tried to barge into the groom’s room but the staff said the groom had left a while ago. His mind was in a jumbled mess as he kept running and running, silently praying that he wasn’t too late. The wedding would start in half an hour, he didn’t know what would he do but he should see him.

The door opened and all heads turned to him, including the beautiful man in white, “Sehun”

The doors to the main venue were still tightly shut and Sehun had no idea if he had time at all. Those huge pair of eyes watched him as he strode in between the escorts until he stood right before him, “Sehun, what are you-“

“Luhan, I love you” the gasps were heard. “Don’t leave me, I can’t live without you, please”

Luhan seemed to be in shock to process everything, to have Sehun confessed in front of everyone who wasn’t them minutes before his wedding was indeed hard to take in. “Don’t...” his voice quivered as he shut his eyes close, trying to draw the words out without shaking his voice too much, “don’t do this to me”

“I called off the wedding”

Luhan opened his eyes immediately, “you what?”

“I can’t marry him, not when I’m in love with you” Sehun could imagine how deep in shock was Luhan to accommodate all of this information at once, and he waited patiently for him to respond. Just anything.

“Sehun, you’re crazy” was the first thing that came out of his lips after minutes in silence.

“I’m desperate. And you don’t know how much I want to be with you” he reached for his hands only to be swatted away.

“We can’t, Sehun! What would Chanyeol’s family think? I owe them that much! What about my parents?” As Luhan said the last part in a low voice, his eyes caught the sight of an old man stood a few feet behind Luhan, his expression was mixed between worry and confusion.

And he focused back to the man before him, “and you sacrificed your happiness for those who didn’t even care whether you did it for them or not? To hell with what they think, Luhan! Because they’re not the one who’s going to spend their entire life living with someone who they don’t love! All of that for the sakes of what would they think! And when I stood on that altar, all I could think about was you and how I wished it was you who stand-“

And his words cut when the door to the venue opened. He thought he would see hundreds pair of eyes looking at the entire fiasco, and Luhan would never forgive him to ruin the wedding this way, instead, only a male appeared behind that door whose face frowning as he stared at the little mass of people gathered there, his hands wrung against each other when he said, “we have a problem”

“That happened so fast” Kyungsoo eventually said after Yeonseok left them alone to fetch some drink. And right now, Baekhyun wasn’t in the mood to respond to Kyungsoo’s witty remarks.

He definitely didn’t expect Sehun to do that. Nonetheless he felt grateful that he did and now his ex-fiancée had to clean this mess alone. The thought burdened Baekhyun as he brought his palms to his face. “I shouldn’t do that” he mumbled to his hands. “God, I lied to Sehun”

“You should apologize to him, maybe you should pretend to lose a hundred times in Tekken to make up for it” Baekhyun sighed hearing Kyungsoo’s suggestion, yet it wasn’t a bad idea either recalling how Sehun loved to win against him in that game.

“I know” his words were muffled before he removed his hands to look at his chef best friend who gave him a look. “What?”

“Then what are you going to do about this?” Kyungsoo asked innocently.

And it put Baekhyun’s gears to turn after the worst had passed and his mind started to get clearer. “I... don’t know” because he honestly didn’t know. It wasn’t planned. And Chanyeol, he took a glance at his wrist watch, he would be married in less than thirty minutes. He was helpless. There was nothing he could do at this point, and the distress was back to eat him alive.

“What are you talking about? My friend would never say something like that” Kyungsoo put his hands on his hips as he gave him a judgmental stare.

He wished he knew what he was going to do, but there was none. Nothing. He might not get married with Sehun but he wasn’t going to be married with the man he wanted either. And he felt like it was all in vain at the end.

“Are you going to let Sehun’s effort go to waste? Are you kidding me?” The chef egged. A look of pure annoyance was clear on his face. Kyungsoo didn’t understand.

“What do you expect me to do? Chanyeol’s going to be married to someone else in less than an hour! Do you think I should barge in and beg him not to marry anyone but me?” Baekhyun half-shouted to him, barely gave a damn if someone could hear it.

“Yes, you moron! I said fight the fate, dumbass!” Kyungsoo shouted back, grabbing both his shoulders, hoping to shake some sense into him.

Baekhyun gave him a weird look, “what? You said I can’t fight the fate?”

“Who are you? My friend would never let anyone win against him without a fight!” After scolded him with a snort, Kyungsoo let his tough exterior fell and a small smile appeared. But it quickly changed back to his fake irritation as he clucked his tongue, “ _yah!_ Byun Baekhyun! What are you doing? The wedding isn’t going to save itself!”

As though breaking from his trance, Baekhyun stood up from his seat with one thing on mind: _I need to see Chanyeol._ And he marched with big steps across the room before coming to a halt and walking back to his friend who looked puzzled, “how do I look?”

Kyungsoo couldn’t help the snort and his roll of eyes as he fixed a few strands and wiped a smudge of tears, “charming as always. Now go”

So Baekhyun did, dashing toward the door only to find a startled Yeonseok appeared from the other side holding a glass of water and a cup of tea, “Baek, are you okay?”

“Yes, and I need to go” he told him briefly before running with Yeonseok’s shouting of _where are you going?_ behind him. “To save my man!” He shouted back. _Park Chanyeol, what did you do to make me say something so cheesy?_

And he kept running. Adrenaline pumped through his blood as he chanted _please, don’t let it happen_ in his heart. As his feet stepped into the green grass, his eyes scanned the entire place and found the tall figure took his place on the platform, waiting for the soon-to-be husband to come out the doors and sealed the vow, but Baekhyun couldn’t let that happen, “Park Chanyeol!”

His voice caught everyone’s attention, including the man who immediately met his eyes as he ran from the side entrance. “Baekhyun” he read his lips uttered his name with great astonish. As he came closer and stood before the altar with him, Chanyeol looked more confused than he already had, “Baek, what are you doing?”

“You still owe me the words” Baekhyun said, a little out of breath from the running all the way here.

The other stared at him in bewilderment, “what are you talking about?”

Baekhyun didn’t know if Chanyeol pretended not to remember or he really didn’t yet it wouldn’t stop him, “the words,” he paused to catch a breath, “that you don’t love me”

This pulled all kind of reaction from everyone present, but Chanyeol only continued to stare at him with wide eyes. The taller knew Baekhyun would never do something as impulsive as this, and the fact that he did, was pretty much shocking, even much to Baekhyun himself. Chanyeol taught him to get his own happiness, and right now he tried. Hell, he was ready to throw all his pride and sense away for him. And only Chanyeol could make him do that.

“Baekhyun...” Chanyeol was totally speechless while they just stood there, staring at each other amongst the ruckus around them.

“Chanyeol,” they turned to Jongdae who approached them, a frown marred his usually cheerful face, “what happened?”

Chanyeol glanced at him before turning back to Jongdae, only to be distracted by the presence at the door ahead. There was Luhan, looking at them in between the aisle, and another presence came into the view from behind the door. Baekhyun couldn’t hide his surprise to see him stood there as the four of them acknowledging each other.

“I’m holding off the wedding”

After the doors closed and the four of them were securely inside, no one seemed to take the initiative until Sehun spoke, “care to explain what’s happening?”

Sehun was specifically eyeing him and Chanyeol, meanwhile Luhan stood not too far behind Sehun, propping his lips on his fist, deep in thought. And Chanyeol stood beside him, remained still to process everything.

Baekhyun felt like he was the one who owed the explanation, “I’m in love with Chanyeol”

Sehun only looked away, pressing his lips afterward, a sign he was familiar every time the younger was upset. “Since when?”

“I don’t know” he wasn’t lying. All he knew was it was too late to stop. And honestly, deep down he didn’t think he even wanted to.

A look of disappointment was present on Sehun’s face, “what would happen if I say yes, Baek? We could’ve been married!” It made him guilty for acting so foolish and reckless, then again, he had a reason.

“It’s not only about us, Sehun.” Mama. Grandpa. Their whole family. He couldn’t just ruin it for them, especially Mama. It was more than a merge of two powerful families because Mama was pouring all of her heart to make this happen. Baekhyun was ready to make it come true but then love came when you least expected it.

“Why?” A low voice made all of them turned to Luhan. Hurt and betrayed. “Why, Chanyeol?” His heart wrenched painfully to witness those emotions played on his calm facade.

Chanyeol was in despair, looking at him without his ubiquitous confidence and frisky attitude was heartbreaking. “Lu... I swear to God, I’m not trying to look for anyone. I swear I’m not-“

“How many times do I have to say it?” Luhan took careful steps toward him, there were so much pain on his eyes that Baekhyun had to avert his own eyes somewhere else. He was responsible for that. And it put him on shame. “You could’ve just said you don’t love me anymore, and I’ll let you go!”

Chanyeol raised his tone, “I am loving you! And I don’t want to hurt you, not this time”

The blonde shook his head, eyes glazing with unshed tears, “you know what I mean, Chanyeol”

“How dare you do this to him?” This time it was Sehun who stepped up. His anger was barely contained and Baekhyun didn’t feel good about this.

“I’m sorry” now Chanyeol kept his head down. Unable to look at anyone.

Sehun let off a mocking laugh, “sorry? Do you know what you’ve done? He gives a damn about you! He chose you because he trusts you! And now you broke him again!” His finger pointed at Chanyeol in accuse.

“I don’t mean to hurt him, Sehun” Baekhyun sensed Chanyeol’s posture went rigid and his voice strained.

“But now you did!” Sehun and Chanyeol were now looking one another in hostile.

“Sehun stop” Luhan warned.

But Sehun disregarded him as he took more steps towards Chanyeol, “you’re a selfish bastard!”

“Sehun-“ Baekhyun was about to stop him when Luhan pulled on Sehun’s arm, holding him back just in time For Chanyeol who marched forward to meet him halfway.

“I can’t help myself falling in love, that’s why! I know when I fucked up my second chance, he would never be the same! He never trusted me completely like he did before! He never truly let me in into his heart anymore! He could never love me again! He tried to love me out of pity! And that’s my fault for making this relationship dysfunctional!”

His words stunned Baekhyun. It rendered him speechless. He didn’t know that Chanyeol had been living in guilt all this time. And it made him realized one thing they had in common. That hurt inflicted fear of stepping out from their own comfort zone. Then when love came out from different place, the hurt was inevitable, and comfort zone was a boomerang. They had been treating love in a wrong way from the start. And look how fatal the damage was.

Sehun scoffed at Chanyeol, “and you were going to make this wedding happen? You’re unbelievable”

“Enough, Sehun” Luhan turned around to face Sehun. The blonde was upset, yet Sehun was furious when the former was supposed to be the one who should.

Knowing how stubborn his friend could be, Baekhyun knew Sehun wouldn’t back down easily at this point, “no, Lu, he hurts you. And he only thinks about his ego.”

“He’s not. I forgive him”

Sehun obviously wasn’t pleased hearing his answer. For some reason, he looked dejected and Baekhyun wondered why. _Why should Sehun cared this much? Why they called each other only by name? Why they spoke informally despite Luhan being older than Sehun? Why Sehun’s whole demeanor would light up every time Luhan’s name was brought up?_ And one more thing, _why did he find Sehun was standing behind that door with Luhan?_

“Why you always give him a chance even though he hurt you?” The hurt flashed on Sehun’s face was all it took to answer Baekhyun’s questions. _Now they're all make sense._

Luhan was at lost, and he knew why. “Sehun, I-“

“I understand now” the two of them looked at him, and Baekhyun steadily held each of their gazes. “You two are in love, aren’t you?”

Surprise was present on everyone’s faces, more on Chanyeol and Luhan, because Sehun knew how his mind worked, and this, wasn’t something Sehun could hide. It surprised him too to take this long to connect the dots. He was too busy to bury his own feelings to notice the change in Sehun.

After recovered from the fact that Baekhyun had them figured out, Luhan looked at him straight, sure and unwavering, “we did what we thought is right”

Unfortunately, they were all but that. They stepped on the wrong foot since the beginning. If only they knew how to untangle themselves from the red strings bounded them together instead of pulling each of their own tight, maybe no one would suffocate, hurt, and bleed. It was too late to undo the damage, but there was one thing he knew for sure. Only them who could fix themselves, to make everything right, like how it supposed to be since day one.

“and what do you think is right for all of us?”

Baekhyun looked at the silver band on his finger, refracting the light where it touched. He moved his entwined hand, only to find the other matching band circled the much bigger hand. _I’m a married man now._ The thought put a smile on his face.

“Luhan looks so happy” A deep calming voice broke his thought away as he looked up to where his husband stared at. In the middle of little clearing in the garden, under the stars, two people were dancing and laughing. Happiness were radiating off to the people around them, and it showed by how their smile mirrored each other.

“He is” Baekhyun agreed, then watching his best friend laughed when he spun Luhan around, “they are” he corrected with a smile. Then he gave a light squeeze to their joined hands, “and so are we”

To say the wedding took an interesting turn which shocking everyone was an understatement. They could care less about what the guests might say, but for the family, it was a lot to take in. His mother was the first to voice out her disapproval, saying how he put the Byun on shame. It was ugly, but having Chanyeol and his father on side was making him feel a whole lot better. Thanks to Mama Oh, after witnessing how Mama welcomed Luhan in an embrace, and both parents acquainted one another respectfully, it shut his mother completely as she left the venue.

Baekhyun couldn’t help his disappointment, but his father assured she would warm up eventually. And with Chanyeol’s easy-going persona, he believed sooner she might be. What was more shocking, he watched Chanyeol greeted his father with familiarity and the latter only smiled whilst patting on his shoulder. It turned out that they met a few times through conferences, and somehow it put Baekhyun’s mind at ease.

Chanyeol’s mother even excitedly introduced him to the big family, complementing on his look despite the slightly swollen eyes he got after the dispute with his own mom. And truly, he felt welcomed and grateful that everything settled mostly well. On side bonus, he got to see Kyungsoo shed a tear on his wedding, and Baekhyun wasn’t going to let it go, like ever.

Unlike the slow first dance of newlyweds, Baekhyun and Chanyeol were dancing like crazy, successfully earning a good laughter from the guests, although some of them might get their jaws dropped due the fact that they were witnessing Byun Baekhyun did a battle dance before the doom’s day. And here they were, sitting on the guest seats, trying to cool down from the moshing they did—yes, it rather looked like moshing instead of dancing.

Baekhyun looked at his husband, identical smile was present on both their faces as Ed Sheeran’s _Thinking Out Loud_ played on the background, and how everything was perfect like they each fell into their right places. Nothing felt wrong anymore when their lips touched and people were clapping along to the song’s end. Their smiles were still intact even though their lips were no longer touching.

Chanyeol turned back to Luhan and Sehun who bowed to the spectators of their dance. He stood up and tugged on his hand, “come” and Baekhyun followed to where Chanyeol led him toward the little stage in the clearing. “Attention please,” Chanyeol tapped on mic and garnered all eyes on them. “Tonight, I want to play a special song for my husband,” then his eyes gazed at him, “the love of my life, Byun Baekhyun. This is for you, my love. Everyone, please enjoy” and the audiences gave a round of applause to encourage them, “Oh, one more thing, happy birthday, Luhan.” And the blonde cheered when Chanyeol sent a wink.

His husband left him in the middle of the stage as the taller seated behind the white grand piano. Chanyeol’s lips stretched up at him before his fingers touched the keys to the intro. Baekhyun’s heart fluttered with the flow of the melody. He knew this song. And for Chanyeol to gift it to him just made him fell deeper for him. His hand reached for the mic, preparing himself for the first verse of the song.

_This life has twists and turns_   
_But it's the sweetest mystery_   
_When you're with me_   
_We say a thousand words_   
_But no one else is listening_   
_I believe_

_Every night and every day_   
_No matter what may come our way_   
_We're in this thing together_   
_The dark turns to light_   
_We both come alive, tonight_   
_I'm talking 'bout forever_

_Never gonna let you go_   
_Giving you my heart and soul_   
_I'll be right here with you for life_   
_Oh, baby all I wanna do_   
_Is spend my every second with you_   
_So look in my eyes_   
_I'll be by your side_

_The storms may come_   
_And winds may blow_   
_I'll be your shelter for life_   
_This love, this love_   
_I mean it till the day I die_

_Oh, never gonna let you go_   
_Giving you my heart and soul_   
_I'll be right here with you for life_   
_Oh, baby all I wanna do_   
_Is spend my every second with you_   
_So look in my eyes_   
_I'll be by your side_

_Yeah, look in my eyes_   
_I'll be by your side_   
_For life_

By the time the song ended and Baekhyun opened his eyes to meet Chanyeol’s, a thundering ovation filled his ears, including Chanyeol who stood up and clapping for him. And Baekhyun’s tears prickled at the corner of his eyes as he ran to Chanyeol and hugged him tightly. He was the happiest man on earth when he heard the words whispered to his ears.

“I love you, Byun Baekhyun”

The night was still young even after the elders and families left. And Baekhyun doubted the party would end anytime soon, since being a social butterfly Chanyeol was, his friends were kept coming and Baekhyun had lost count how many times he shook hands with them and said hi. He finally took a short break to the restroom. Washing his hands in the sink, he observed his reflection on the mirror. He looked tired and messy, yet... happy that it almost hard to miss.

Baekhyun looked around the huge restroom, after he was sure it was empty, he pulled the strawberry lip balm out of his pocket and applied a thin layer on his lips, just enough to give some color. He kept reminding himself that it wasn’t a bad thing for wanting to be pretty even in front of your husband, and Baekhyun just did that. He didn’t need a blush, because hearing Chanyeol introduced him as his husband was more than enough to make his cheeks flamed. Hell, he bit his inner cheeks hard enough just to stop himself from grinning like a cuckoo. Now he could giggle like a school girl at the thought before preening back on himself to look decent and of course, beautiful in Chanyeol’s eyes.

After deeming himself ready to go back, he gave one last look on the mirror and treaded for the door when suddenly Chanyeol barged in and locked them inside.

“Chanyeol, what-“ He hadn’t even properly asked when Chanyeol turned on his heels and crashed their lips together. Unlike any other kiss they had shared, this one felt urgent and messy as Baekhyun backed toward the sink on his tiptoes due to their height differences. Instead of complaining, he let out a moan with how hard Chanyeol gripped on his waist. Before he knew, he was hiked up high on Chanyeol’s upper body, as the latter perched him on the sink.

“Your lips taste like strawberry” Chanyeol whispered on his lips shortly then latching his mouth to the back of his ear, kissing some spots there while his thighs brought their body closer to feel the hardness underneath the thin fabrics of their pants. Chanyeol would find out that he was very vocal when it came to sex if he kept his hands on his ass longer.

“I-I just used a lip balm” Baekhyun reasoned in between his moans, undulating his body to get the pleasurable friction out of them. Chanyeol’s lips on his neck didn’t even help to quieten his groan. It was too good.

“God, how come you smell so good” Baekhyun wailed particularly loud when he felt a hard bite near his pulse point. The taller then proceeded to unbutton his shirt, licking a stripe from his collarbone down to his navel. This wasn’t how he imagined his first night with Chanyeol would be, but he couldn’t imagine either anything more perfect than the idea of Chanyeol impatiently wanted him even before their wedding officially ended. The thought only sent burst of love ran in his blood, including southward where his cock strained painfully in his pants.

As though reading his mind, Chanyeol began to unbuckle his belt, freeing his hard cock and the other bare no time to engulf the entire length into his mouth. “Aaahh, Chanyeol” Baekhyun howled, raking his scalp to the warm sensation on his girth, not to mention the light wring on his balls at the same time which doubled the pleasure. Chanyeol took his time pleasuring Baekhyun with his mouth and hands, scrapping his front teeth against his entire shaft while his nipple and balls were fondled with the same attention. “Chanyeol, a-ah, fuck, it feels so good”

Baekhyun’s eyes rolled heavenward at how amazing Chanyeol’s mouth wrapped around him. His legs which dangled on those broad shoulders were now trembling with overwhelming lust and pleasure. He didn’t know what to do to channel his frustration away apart from holding a fistful of his husband’s hair, the harder his grasp on them, the more eager Chanyeol sucked him off.

Sensing how close he was to explode, eventually Chanyeol took a mercy on him as he released the glistening cock from his mouth then proceeded to unzip his pants. Baekhyun waited in anticipation with pounding heart at what could possibly wait for him down there.

By the time he caught the sight of it, Baekhyun couldn’t stop himself from leaping on his feet before Chanyeol grabbed him and turned him around so they were facing the sink with his back pressed close against the taller’s chest. “You can have a taste of it later, just not now” the husky voice tickled his ear, enough to turn his legs into jelly, if it wasn’t for the strong arm circled around his waist, he might be a puddle of goo on the floor right now.

He felt Chanyeol’s other hand guided the hardness in between his legs, just right under his balls where the upturned tip visible. “Squeeze your thighs for me, Baek” at Chanyeol’s command, Baekhyun obliged as they both moaned. And Chanyeol started to fuck his thighs. God, he never knew thighs-fucking could be this good until tonight. “When you look beautiful like that,” Chanyeol panted on his ear, “it makes me crazy at how much I want you” and Baekhyun’s head shifted to look at him, want and need clouded those dark orbs, despite the continuous hard slams of their bodies, he could feel the love from the mere tender touch of the big hand reaching for his face as their lips molded into each other once again. Until Baekhyun could no longer stand it anymore.

“Just fuck me already” He pleaded breathlessly, eyebrows scrunching at his thinning patience. His husband seemed to agree, as he frantically eyed black marble top for something, “where’s the lip balm?” He asked and Baekhyun urgently rummaged his pocket for the little jar of Vaseline and slammed it to his hand. It wouldn’t be enough but at least it would do, for now. Chanyeol dipped his finger into the petroleum jelly, “I need to prepare you first”

“I can take it, hurry” His patience was gone, and he was high on lust. He just needed Chanyeol inside him and nothing else.

“It will hurt, promise I won’t take long-”

But Baekhyun cut him off, “fuck me raw and hard, Chanyeol! Damn it!” And just like that he gasped at the sudden intrusion, lips hang loose with no sound came out but his quick breath. He felt like he was tearing apart, and it hurt like hell yet not exactly uncomfortable. His eyes were blown and Chanyeol frowned at the reflection.

“Baek, are you alright?” And Baekhyun only closed his eyes as he gripped on the marble tight until his knuckles turned white, “Baek, I’m sorry, I’ll pull out-“

“No!” And Chanyeol groaned. He realized he just clenched around Chanyeol in reflex, leaving the latter panting on his shoulder. “Just move” and Baekhyun initiated the first move, dragging his puckered entrance until the tip left inside before pushing the rod back deep. He set up the pace for both of them until Chanyeol took the rein to move in tandem. “Yes, baby, oh fuck, do it again” Baekhyun began to sing moans to hard slam of Chanyeol’s cock deep inside which sending flood of pleasure all over his body.

All inhibition was gone once Baekhyun mewled out loud which encouraging Chanyeol to fuck him in earnest, cries of bliss echoing in the small place. No one care if someone might hear them because maybe that was what Baekhyun secretly hoped. For someone to know that Chanyeol could make him this crazy. He almost felt like Chanyeol was specifically made for him at how he fitted just right in him, thrusting right on his core and left him in delirious state.

He didn’t know if it was possible to have more of him as he tried to lift one leg to the marble sink, “Ah! Ahh! Deeper baby, yeah” his body kept bouncing forward at how hard Chanyeol rammed into him. His husband’s hand covered his on top the cold surface, and the gesture warmed his heart. His other hand reached for his neglected cock, fondling and thumbing at the slit which made him wailing in ecstasy.

Their eyes met through the mirror once again. Baekhyun bared his neck for Chanyeol to feast on it, wet and rosy from where his mouth kept savoring on the skin there for the majority of the time. With desire ricocheted off on their gazes, and a bite, Baekhyun came in a whimper, emptying himself on Chanyeol’s hand and splattering milky white against the marble. Meanwhile the other was unrelenting with his arduous fucking, chasing his own orgasm in feral growl. Kissing everything his lips could reach, his temple, eyes, cheek. “I love you, Baekhyun. I love you so much, baby”

Baekhyun reached for his face, brushing on a dot of sweat on his hairline, “I love you too” he said tenderly, refraining himself from moaning out loud as he resorted to breath heavily, “come for me, love” and he sealed it with a kiss. Not long after, Chanyeol’s seeds flowed into him. Along with butterfly wings fluttered against his belly.

Chanyeol didn’t cease the thrusts as he kept coming and coming until it overflowed to his thighs. When it finally stopped, did Chanyeol’s hips slowed down. Their lips were parting after what seemed like forever. Baekhyun didn’t think he could get tired from kissing Chanyeol’s lips, they looked puffy and reddish, his lower lip was bleeding too, and it made him blushed. His thumb wiped the blood off which got kissed afterward. God, they were so hopelessly in love that it got him dizzy.

When Chanyeol’s arm slowly released him, he almost fell to the floor before the taller quickly held him back. “Whoa, Baek, are you sure you’re okay? Do I have to carry you?”

“I’m fine. I just...” Baekhyun sighed, it was so embarrassing. “Give me some time” he eventually said.

Chanyeol only laughed in response, “alright then” he brought their body closer once again.

He had no idea whether Chanyeol was doing it intentionally or he was being stupid. “Chanyeol,”

“Hm?” The other hummed in reply.

He swore to god, he wanted to bury himself alive now that the lust finally faded and his sense were coming back to him. “You’re... still inside”

“Oh!” Chanyeol quickly pulled out and Baekhyun prevented himself from whining out loud when he felt more fluid dribbled down his legs, “oh, I’m really sorry” and Chanyeol grabbed bunch of napkins to clean him off. Seriously, Baekhyun wanted nothing more than the ground to open up and eat him whole.

It took ten minutes for them to make themselves look decent as possible as they could. For Byun Baekhyun’s standard, he was far from decent. The flush on his cheeks were hard to miss, while Chanyeol just needed to use the dryer on his hair to make him look like he just relieving himself in the toilet and went back like nothing happened—except, he was indeed _relieving_ himself, but inside his husband.

And it took another five minutes to convince Chanyeol to leave the restroom first. Also a few seconds, before Baekhyun shunned him out the door completely when he said, “can we do it one more time?”

Now he needed to cool off the redness on his cheeks, he splashed some water on his face then staring at his reflection. What a huge mistake indeed as the memory from what happened earlier on that mirror came rushing back at him. And the empty jar of his lip balm near the tap. Not to mention he could feel himself still dripping in the past minutes and it definitely didn’t help. _Park Chanyeol should be responsible for this! Damn it!_

He pulled the door, cursing his husband inwardly for inciting such ideas on his mind now, “Chan-“

Yet instead of finding Chanyeol, he was met with Kim Jongin on his way a few feet from the restroom. The man pointed with his thumb over his shoulder, “he’s going to- Oh...” and trailed off when he seized him up and down. Baekhyun flushed madly to the fact that Kim Jongin was quick to catch on what was happening. The latter held his hands up at him.

“I’ll use another toilet”


	7. Epilogue

Luhan throws three different test packs on the table, each ranges from the least to the most accurate one. Baekhyun reaches for them, inspecting the exact two lines present on all of them. The doctor stares at those things in horror, propping his mouth against his fist.

“You look like you won’t appreciate a congratulation” Baekhyun places the test packs down, watching his friend now paced back and forth in his living room. He doesn’t look too happy with this news and Baekhyun wonders why, though it answers the reason behind Luhan’s unannounced visit to his house.

After seems like several rounds of pacing around, Luhan finally opens his mouth, “It’s not supposed to happen, Baek” he looks at Baekhyun in disbelief, “I’m strict about him wearing a condom every time we had sex, but that one time, God, he could be so fucking stupid sometimes” Luhan rarely curses, and when he does, it means shit is happening. And no, he’s not going to tell Baekhyun that he’s the one who suggests Sehun to keep him inside all night long. Now he felt even stupider to get turned on at how Sehun ripped the package with his teeth, because that was the root of the problem!

“No swearing in this household, Luhan” Baekhyun warns, glancing to the kids playing on the carpet. The other just huffs out, folding his arms in sulk. The difference between him and his baby is almost uncanny this way. “What are you worrying about?”

“It’s...” Luhan’s words cut off short when a little boy tugs on his pants.

“ _Baba!_ ” And he crouches down to pick the Lego blocks offered at him, trying to break the pieces to no avail.

Until Baekhyun takes pity on him, “give it to me” and pulling the two blocks apart easily. The baby claps excitedly before opening his palms up to receive his toys back. Baekhyun leans down and taps on his cheek, “now give uncle a kiss” which the babe complied with a cute ‘thank you, uncle Baek’ before retreats back to the twins. “Lu, are you sure you don’t want another Hanbyul? Because I’m sure as hell, I want to kidnap him” cuss words would be damned.

“He’s barely three, Baek. And we’re agreed to let him go to school first before having another baby.” Luhan brings both hands to his face as he plops on the sofa. Sehun promises he can go back to work for some time after Hanbyul’s old enough, yet with this pregnancy happening, he doesn’t think it will happen anytime soon. “I miss working”

Baekhyun lets out a deep exhale, “me too. Technically, I’m still working at home, minus the overseas trips. But being a dad isn’t so bad either” his eyes move toward his two babies, Yuan and Yuri. Yuri is basically older than her brother, but Yuan always seems to be protective of his sister and Hanbyul. Like how Yuan shares his Lego parts to Yuri even though she’s not asking for it. His little angels never seem to stop putting a smile on his face.

“I like being a parent. I love it. If I don’t, I won’t be willing to dedicate myself on being a full-time daddy for Byul. Then again, you know how much I love being a doctor too” Now it’s Luhan’s turn to sigh. He watches Byul. It feels like it’s just yesterday when he tries to roll on his belly, but now he’s talking non-stop, mixing Chinese and Korean in between. His baby boy grows so fast, and he’s going to be a big brother. Luhan touches his flat stomach. He’ll be lying if he says he’s not happy about it.

“I’m sure Sehun won’t mind sparing his time so you both can switching between work and take care of the kids. Besides, I bet Mama will be overjoyed if you ask her for a help.” Baekhyun says, glancing at the clock when he sees Yuri starts to yawn. It’s almost 7pm. They usually sleep around eight, maybe they’re too tired after spending the day in their grandmother’s house. His mother spoils them too much, Baekhyun eyes the new toys scatter on the rug, and there’s more in his car which he hasn’t brought out yet. Thankfully, they’re distracted enough to even ask about it.

The doctor pinches the bridge of his nose, “guess I’ll think about it” he mutters.

Yuri waddles to Baekhyun, her fist rubbing her sleepy eyes as she yawns, “papa, Yuri is sleepy”

Her father reaches for her, “okay, let’s get you to sleep then” he turns to Luhan, “Lu, can you help me to get Bunny in her room?” Then secures Yuri who immediately closer her eyes in his arms.

Luhan nods as they walk upstairs and split in the hallway. It didn’t take long to spot the rabbit plush inside the crib since Luhan acquaints well with the twins’ room as much as he does to his own baby’s room. After fetching the doll, he steps back into the room where Baekhyun disappears, Yuri is fast asleep tucked under the blanket in the middle of the grand bed, “still keeping the tradition?” He holds out the doll to him.

Baekhyun chuckles, reaching for Bunny and tucking it next to his baby. “Chanyeol’s too happy to keep the thing going on. He insists to let them sleep here every night if I don’t remind him they need to learn to sleep alone” Chanyeol and Baekhyun spare every weekend for their kids to sleep in their room. And to see his husband excited to have the twins’ sleepover is almost too cute and endearing. He leans in to kiss his baby’s head.

A buzz comes from Luhan’s phone and he doesn’t need to check the screen to know who it is. “Oh, honey?”

“Lu, where are you?” Sehun’s voice registers from the other line.

“I’m at Baekhyun’s house” he steps a little further so he won’t wake up Yuri with his voice.

“I’m looking for you and Byul around the house. You don’t call me either, I thought something happened” worry etches on his tone, and Luhan feel guilty for letting it slip from his mind to tell him.

“I’m sorry. I’m fine, we’re fine. I was meaning to be home before you come” he explains.

Sehun sighs in relief. He knows his husband probably contemplates on picking them up here, but Luhan had made it clear that he doesn’t like it when Sehun being too paranoid, although sometimes it still makes the butterflies go crazy. Especially now that they’re aware about his pregnancy, maybe he’ll let Sehun fusses over him a little more than usual. “Alright, I’ll be waiting. Drive safe, okay?”

Luhan hums to the phone before disconnecting the call. He walks back to Baekhyun, “I gotta go now” and the latter nods as he stands up from the bed, walking alongside him back to the living room.

“Are you sure you don’t want to have some dinner with us before going home? Chanyeol is on his way home right now, he should be here in a few minutes” Baekhyun tries to convince him, yet the doctor only shakes his head with an apologetic smile.

“Sehun is home. Maybe next time,”

Baekhyun nods in understanding, but then stopping Luhan when they reach the bottom of the stairs, “congratulation, Lu. I’m happy for both you and Sehun”

Luhan’s lips stretch in a sincere smile, “thank you, Baek” and pulls him into a hug. The two continue the short journey to the kids when this time, it’s Luhan who put a stop to their step. A finger on his lips as he signals them to keep quiet.

There in the living room, Yuan watches Hanbyul sleeps peacefully on the rug. His little hand is carefully caressing the younger’s head. Luhan is quite aware of how affectionate Yuan towards his little darling amongst his other friends, and Baekhyun seems to realize this too as he holds a giggle to the cute interaction between the boys. But no one see it coming when Yuan leans down and leaves a kiss to the sleeping boy’s cheek. Both parents are surprised to witness the secret first kiss shared between their children. Luhan and Baekhyun exchange a knowing look, then sharing a muted chuckle.

The Byuns and the Ohs may not mean to be together, but one thing for sure, they can’t wait to see what will happen to the Parks and the Ohs in few years later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, this is me again! It has been a long while for me to write, and I'm coming back to relieve a bit of longing I have for these couples (JK it's far from "a bit" I miss them so much that I think I might die from it). I'm happy that I finally be able to finish this 50K+ something story, altho I still don't feel like I'm satisfied with how it turns out. I feel like it's kinda rushed, and there are some details that I want to add but I don't have much time to do so eventho the mods are kind enough to give me the extended time, for that I feel grateful. Also, I hope you all enjoy this little piece of work. So, this is the best I could come up for now. Just let me know what you think on the comment section and I'll try to be better next time. I'd like to thank the mods for making this ficfest happen, you guys had worked hard! For the reader, thank you for sparing your time to read my writing, more over, thank you for loving EXO until now. I'm wishing you guys to stay healthy and be safe wherever you are. WE ARE ONE, EXO LET'S LOVE!


End file.
